


Life of Beca Mitchell (The Sequel)

by callmeRy



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Heavy Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-11-11 15:02:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 82,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11150877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeRy/pseuds/callmeRy
Summary: After the ups and downs, Beca and Chloe are finally married. In addition, the redhead is pregnant with their first child. Will that be their happily ever after? Or will there be more turmoil in their relationship? Especially with the feud within the Bella itself. What will happen to Ashley? Will she find her happy ending? Reminder: A very heavy angst, just as the first settlement.





	1. Collecting The Pieces

 

**Hey, Folks. It's been a while :)**

**First and the most important, I can't thank all of you enough for the supports throughout this story, and to encourage me to continue. This is my very first story, and not going to lie, TLOBM is my baby. So, I'm glad there are still some of you who appreciated and wanted to read it regardless of how dark and twisted it is :)**

**To be honest, it took me a while to dare myself to read your responses if I should keep going. Can't express enough how relieved I was to find out that so many of you wanted me to go on. Then I dared myself more to re-read the whole first settlement from the very beginning to the end, including the reviews and PMs.**

**There were so many opinions with compliments, there were some with critiques, and there were some that I really like; vivid explanation of the readers point of views. As long as it's about the story, negative or positive, I welcomed and appreciated them. I'd explain my reasons to write it, not to despise your opinions, but simply to show how I could come to that conclusion for the story. Then there were some with only plain harsh judgement and mean accusations about me as a person. This kind really got me on my nerves.**

**Then I realized how little there were the harsh reviews that kept coming back into my mind since I put out this story. Less than ten percent, and it probably came from the same people chapter to chapter. I was way too over reactive. No need to guess or ask, I did feel like an idiot myself in the end for fixating on the few harsh judgements about me.**

**Anyway, I found it in chapter 23, I answered one of the guests who asked me to kill Chloe's character in this story (if you are readers from AO3, you need to read it from fanfictiondotnet to find out). I told them that I have put so much misery on Chloe, and it's not fair if I don't give her the happy ending that she deserves. Re-reading that response and getting encouragement from so many of you reminded me of why I needed and should keep going. So, I'm doing it.**

**Now, a guest asked me in the 35th chapter. Do I know the end game? The answer would be yes. Absolutely yes. You have to suffer a bit more of my rambling. The original draft was finished in mid December 2016. So, I've known where this would end ever since. Not going to lie though, in the process of editing, there were some additional scenes. Not plot changing, but more like situation's elaborations, and most of the times, an idea just popped up in my mind.**

**I know that in the first chapter, I said that nothing is set in stone. But maybe I should've mentioned this to you earlier; I changed my mind after putting out ten chapters or so. It became set in stone. Because the story was already going far enough, and it would mess with everything, and I would have to throw away more than a thousand of pages I'd written. Not to mention the time I invested to write it.**

**But I understand that you have some expectations and opinions. Some reviews even predicted the plot very well that it actually happened after a few chapters. Some are coincidences, but some are not. As I said in my endnote in chapter 23, if you want to have a certain scene, you can suggest it to me, and I'll consider it as long as it fits the situation and it doesn't stray from the plot. I've done it before. The part where Ashley gave Beca Chloe's letter, it was an idea from a fellow author, of course with some adjustments to fit my plot. The fight between Kristen and Beca after Beca went back to the hospital to choose Chloe, it was a suggestion from a reader too. Then the paparazzi part, the blow up of Beca's relationship with Chloe in the media, it came from a reader also. There were some other scenes too. So, feel free to give suggestions.**

**The characters themselves, I used real people or real characters from movies or TV series. Some of you might have found out that I used celebrities and characters from Pretty Little Liars, Suit, Grey's Anatomy, Kristen Steward, Olivia Wilde, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie is like super hot in SS), and some other characters and celebrities. If you haven't found out before, well now you know. Soon enough, there will be more. (I watch, a lot. Am a movie freak.)**

**It happened because I'm so bad at describing a person physically. And since I'm a visual kinesthetic person, I needed a clear image of those characters to mold the story in my mind. It was more for my convenience, and I thought it would help the readers who need visual images too, you know, since I believe none of you could imagine the person only with my poor descriptions.**

**I don't know them in real life obviously, so I don't know their real personalities. Their characteristics in this story is on me. Why I didn't use PLL's roles for Ashley, Troian, and Shay, and then Patrick's character in Suit? Because some people might end up thinking that this is an alternate universe or a cross. It's not. Harvey and Donna are who they are in Suit though, because their characteristics in this story are still relatable to the TV series. But this story is about Beca's life, based on my interpretation of her characteristics in PP movies, and then I gave it more. That's why I only put down her name in the story description.**

**I know it took me longer and longer to post the chapter. Some of you might have wondered about why it took me so long to post it if the story is already done. Because life got busier, sometimes I'm not in the mood, and I wrote the original draft in past tense, which I changed into present tense when I decided to post it. Since English isn't my first language, it took quite some times to edit, and each chapters became longer and longer. Even with that, you'd still find so many mistakes. My bad :)**

**Whew... I've been rambling way too much, haven't I? Now, let's go back to the story. The first settlement ended with Bechloe's wedding. We'll start the sequel with the early days of their marriage. This chapter is quite light. But if I were you, I wouldn't get too comfortable.**

**I don't own Pitch Perfect and the characters. Hope you enjoy :)**

**Oh, almost forgot. There will be some smuts. You know, they're newlyweds. If you're not comfortable reading them, just skip it. I've put down some warnings.**

* * *

 

**Morning after the Wedding**

Unusually, Beca wakes up earlier than Chloe. She spoons her wife from behind and trails her lips on the back of Chloe's shoulder.

"Mmm..." Chloe smiles with her eyes closed. She holds Beca's hand on her chest tighter and mumbles, "You're early."

With her lips pressed onto the curve of the redhead's shoulder, the DJ mumbles, "I remember you said something about our first morning sex as a married couple."

"What about that?" Chloe asks with a teasing tone.

"I'm collecting the promise, Mrs. Mitchell."

While wiggling her way around, the redhead giggles and retorts, "The three times last night weren't enough for you, Mrs. Mitchell?"

"Have you seen how smokey hot the woman I'm married to?" The DJ smirks.

Chloe chuckles with her cheeks flushed. When she looks into her wife's eyes, there's nothing else but adoration and desire in them. She automatically runs her tongue on her lips and bites her bottom lip gently.

Then Beca leans forward for a kiss, and Chloe automatically parts her lips to give her wife an access to deepen the kiss. However, right then, heat starts raising from her stomach.

Gently, the brunette pushes herself up and moves her left hand to the back of Chloe's head. Just as she's about to slip her tongue into her wife's mouth, Chloe pushes her away and runs to the bathroom.

At first, the DJ is confused. Then she hears the sound of her wife vomiting. She hurriedly gets up and puts on her clothes before going to get her wife a cup of warm tea from the kitchen. When she walks back into the bedroom, Chloe is already sitting by the edge of the bed, and no longer naked.

The redhead is now wearing her wife's white button up shirt and an underwear, gripping the edge of the bed tightly with her hands to hold the nausea.

As Beca hands the cup to Chloe, she asks, "You okay, wife?"

"Your peanut knew how to ruin our orgasm." The redhead jokes with a weak smile before sipping the tea slowly.

Beca chuckles and kneels in between her wife's legs. Gently, she lifts up the shirt halfway and rubs Chloe's stomach. With a look so fond, she says, "Peanut was just asking for her mama's attention."

Chloe smiles fondly and caresses the DJ's head gently with one hand, while Beca leans forward to kiss her stomach.

"Behave for Mommy, will you?"

Upon seeing how sweet her wife is, the redhead feels warm in her chest. Never in her life had she ever imagined that Beca would ease into motherhood so easily, and it's only been two days. She always knew that Beca would be a great mother, but just not this easily. The smile on her face grows even fonder. As her hand keeps caressing Beca's head, she says, "I've told you, Babe. You'll be a great mother. I don't even have to wait for a couple of years since I told you that to find out."

They had that talk on the night Beca revealed about her decision to stay with Ashley. The DJ looks up at the redhead, grinning from ear to ear as she says, "I hope so. Peanut deserves the best from both of us. Since you're already great at this, I have to catch up fast."

"Baby, I think you're just as great." The redhead says softly. "You just don't know it yet. But I do. I have from a long time ago."

"You hear that, peanut?" The DJ talks to Chloe's tummy goofily. "Mommy says you'll have a set of great parents."

Chloe chuckles and leans downward to kiss the top of Beca's head.

Then Beca gets up and takes the cup from her wife. "Why don't you meditate? It should help with the nausea. I'll make some breakfast for us."

"Sounds great." The redhead says. "Thanks, Babe."

Beca simply kisses her wife chastely on the lips and goes back to the kitchen.

After the brunette walks out of the room, Chloe scoots backward and sits in a lotus position on the bed. She meditates for about 30 minutes, and then she leans her back onto the headboards. She takes the iPad on the nightstand, and starts looking for an e-book about pregnancy to read. Around five minutes later, Beca comes back with a tray of scrambled eggs, toasts, a fruit platter, and two glasses of orange juice.

"Breakfast for my babies." The DJ says as she puts down the tray on the bed and moves the glasses of juice to the nightstand. Then she lies on her side, holding her head up with one elbow next to Chloe's stomach and rubs it gently. "Don't worry, little one. Mommy's gonna replace what she just threw out in a second."

Chloe simply chuckles and starts eating her breakfast. After she swallows the toast, she says, "Becs, here in the book, it's said that it's preferably to do the ultrasound after week eight."

With her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth full of eggs, Beca asks, "Why?"

While reading, the redhead explains, "Based on my last date of cycle, I'm supposed to be three weeks into pregnancy. The ultrasound usually can detect the fetus starting from week six. But to be sure, it's better that we wait until week eight."

"Huh." Beca nods absentmindedly. "But there must be a way to be sure early on."

Chloe continues to read, and then she says, "We can do some blood work to check my HCG level."

"Whatever it is, we'll do it." The DJ says before munching a toast. "Today." She muffles.

Staring at her wife fondly, the redhead teases, "You just can't wait, can you?"

"Nope." Beca pops the P. Then she sits up next to Chloe and places the tray on her laps before leaning closer to the redhead.

Chloe automatically rests her head on her wife's shoulder. They spend the morning reading the e-book and eating breakfast. All the while, Beca would rub Chloe's stomach absentmindedly from time to time.

After they finish breakfast, Beca puts the tray on the nightstand and kisses Chloe's shoulder. "How about I draw you a hot bath?"

"Okay."

"Sit tight." The DJ says as she gets up and walks into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, she yells from the bathroom, "Your bath is ready, wife!"

"Coming!" Chloe gets up from the bed and takes off her clothes. Then she ties up her hair in a messy bun before going into the bathroom. When she steps in, the brunette is already sitting in the bath tub with her hair tied up in a messy bun too, arms rested lazily on the edge of the tub. The redhead simply stares at her wife with amused look.

Beca tilts her head swiftly, smirking as she says, "Come in." She points her chin to the other end of her side. "Sit over there."

Chloe does as she's told. She sits on the other side, facing her wife with their legs tangled in the middle. As soon as she's sitting comfortably, Beca takes one of her feet and starts massaging it gently.

"Hmmm..." The redhead leans her head back onto the porcelain and closes her eyes. It's good that her wife has put a folded towel on it, so she can rest her head comfortably.

"How's the water?"

"Perfect temp."

The DJ presses her thumbs onto her wife's sole, and Chloe whimpers lightly.

"Feel good?" Beca asks.

"Better than good."

The brunette simply smiles and keeps working her hands on her wife's foot, making the redhead whimpering for feeling relaxed.

Then Chloe straightens up. She stares the brunette with her eyebrows furrowed, yet she's also smiling. This is something new and unexpected coming from her wife. For as long as they've known each other, Chloe thought that Beca has always been the receiving part for this kind of treatment. Even when the brunette was with Ashley, it seemed like the blonde was _the wife_. "I'm wondering..." She says. "No offense, Babe. But it seems to me, you're not a person who usually do this kind of thing. You know, spoiling someone this way. I thought you were the one who needed to be spoiled."

Beca looks at her wife, smirking as she says, "None taken."

"So, am I wrong to think that way about you?" The redhead teases.

"Could be." The DJ shrugs, eyes and hands fixed on massaging her wife's foot. "You can only speak from experience and what you see. What happened behind the closed door, it stayed behind the closed door."

"Hmmm..." Chloe purses her lips with her eyes narrowed, considering if she should ask her wife about something. After a couple of seconds, she takes a deep breath and asks, "Were you also like this with Ashley?"

With her head still facing down at the foot in her hands, Beca glances her eyes up at her wife and raises an eyebrow. She's confused of why so suddenly her wife wants to talk about Ashley.

"Just curious." The redhead shrugs. Certainly, it's her insecurity talking. Apparently, just like Ashley was insecure about Chloe's role in Beca's life, Chloe feels the same about the blonde.

Beca purses her lips in a way that shows she's not comfortable talking about her ex with her wife. Nevertheless, she doesn't want Chloe to think that talking about their past is forbidden. Therefore, with a tight-lipped smile, she raises her eyebrows up one time and looks back at Chloe's foot as she casually answers, "Yea."

"What you usually did for her?"

"Nothing I haven't done for you." The brunette says as casually as she can muster. "Preparing a hot bath when she had a bad day, making her a cup of hot milk when she was stressed the hell out of her mind and couldn't sleep, giving her massages, making breakfast for her sometimes, sending her favorite cakes to PLL set, singing for her, and even feeding her when she was sick. She did the same, and then some more."

"Hmmm..." Chloe nods absentmindedly. "I knew she was so old school. You know, preparing your meal and stuff. The southern kind of girl. Just never thought you'd do the same."

Beca chuckles and shakes her head. "Her preparing my meal isn't because she's traditional, wife. When we started hanging out, she saw how careless I was about my wellbeing, especially when I was working on something. So, she started doing stuff for me. You know, so I could live better. She did what she did to keep me in line. But it doesn't mean I just took her for granted. As much as I got, I gave back just the same. If not more. We're equal."

"Hmmm..." Chloe nods with somehow a bit of sad look. "She's so lucky. You know, being your first girlfriend and all. She got to be the first one who tasted the romantic Mitchell."

"Maybe." Beca pinches each of her wife's toes. "But the road to mold me into who I am now wasn't easy for her. After Barden and before Ashley, I was alone for a very long time. And I honestly forgot how to live my life not only with myself. Besides, if you think about it, it's not like we didn't have the same thing back in college, wife."

"We did?"

"Yea." The DJ nods, smiling softly at her wife. "Remember you always brought me food and coffee to the radio station because you knew I was so bad at taking care of myself?"

"Yea?"

"And remember I used to bring you your favorite milk, make you some mixes, leave you some sticky notes, let you have the last piece of my tiramisu, and... other stuff?"

"Yea?"

"It's the same, right? Just in a different scale. There are lines between treating a girl friend, and treating a girlfriend. But it's the same thing. More or less."

Upon finding out that she is the first one who got different treatment from the brunette, the light in Chloe's face comes back, and she's smiling ever so brightly. "So, I'm the lucky first one then?"

"You are." Beca confirms softly. "You're my first love nonetheless. And I plan to keep you as my last. You know, since you're a Mitchell now."

There must be a thousand of butterflies in Chloe's stomach, because she's feeling the most wonderful tingling sensation spreading from her chest to the tip of her fingers. Something about being reminded that she's the DJ's first and last love sure sweeps her off her feet. "I'm glad that I'm the first and the last one for you."

Beca simply smiles and keeps working her hands on the redhead's foot.

"I wonder how you, the snarky loner, started a relationship with a queen bee." The redhead says cheerfully. "I mean, both me and Ashley are queen bees, but you were a different person when you fell in love with her with the you now. Seems like I have a lot to thank her. I got the advantage of not doing the ground work. Ashley seems to lay a quite good base on you to become such a perfect lover."

Beca chuckles, "Maybe."

"How did it start anyway?" Chloe seems intrigued. "You weren't easy to deal with I bet, and I can vouch for that, you know, because it wasn't easy for me too back in college. So, how your relationship with her worked with... all of your quirks?"

After taking a deep breath, the DJ answers, "Yea. Like I said. Wasn't easy for her. More than often, because I was so stubborn and thickheaded, she had to do it with a blunt force."

"A blunt force?"

"U huh." Beca nods as she pushes her thumb and index finger up her wife's shin. "When Ashley and I just got to know each other for a couple of months, we would hang out at my place or her place, she'd do what she was doing, and I'd work on what I was working. I never set particular times for meal, and she caught my bad habit. So, she'd prepare the food and put it in front of me without saying anything. When I didn't start eating in ten minutes or so, she'd casually ask _Do you need me to shove the food into your mouth too so you'd finally eat?-"_

"She'd say that?" Chloe asks with her eyes wide. "It was kind of harsh, wasn't it?"

"Huh." The DJ tilts her head slightly, pursing her lips to think. Then she shrugs. "She's weird that way. But I kind of like it, you know, getting scold. It felt like she was still shy to show that she started to care about me. So, the next time she prepared my food, most of times, I'd eat it immediately."

Chloe chuckles and teases, "Who would've thought that the badass Beca Mitchell loves to be whipped?"

While rolling her eyes playfully, Beca laughs lightly, and then she says, "I guess I do. Better keep that a secret, wife. Anyway, after my second heart attack, every time I got my own food, she'd make sure I ate enough and I picked the healthy one. I tend to forget my meds, and she gave it to me after we ate together, and when we weren't together, she'd ask me to take a picture of my food, and remind me to take my meds afterwards. When I was sick, I didn't want to eat, so she forced me to eat by feeding me. And she always reminded me to work out regularly. Just like that, and our life together started."

"Hmmm..." Chloe simply listens while nodding her head absentmindedly.

Without thinking much about it, Beca easily continues, "Over times, I got used to it, and I became a spoiled ass. And it became her habit I guess, taking care of me."

"So, she became the southern kind of wife for you in the end." The redhead concludes.

"Again, it isn't about being a southern girl, wife." Beca says patiently. "From getting the spoiling treatment, I learnt to do the same to her. In my own way certainly."

Chloe grimaces apologetically and says, "I don't mean to despise her, Babe. But it's still a mystery to me a girl like Ashley could be so... domestic in a relationship. Not only that, I pegged her as a moderate."

Beca looks up at the redhead and smiles. Her mind is rolling its way back to a certain conversation she had with Ashley many years ago. Then she sighs contentedly as she looks back at Chloe's foot in her hands. "She's not domestic nor a traditional. That's what she claimed. She's a royalty, also her claim. She said that she wanted to be treated like a queen by me, and she could only ask to be treated as a queen, when she's also willing to treat me like a king. Always covering her kindness with self perseverance excuses that one."

Upon seeing the serene look on her wife's face, Chloe is taken by surprise, and she becomes tongue tied for a second.

"But I knew it back then." The DJ continues without noticing the look on her wife's face, hands are still working wonder on Chloe's foot. "She just wanted to show me how a relationship work. It's a two way street. It's about learning how to complement each other without being afraid of making mistakes. We learnt to be open about what we wanted or didn't want, we learnt to not make a fuss out of small stuff, some sorts of things."

With a tight lipped smile, Chloe says, "She's sweet."

A certain memory comes across the DJ's mind. With a light smile, she says, "Not always. She meant sweet, but her way of showing it more than often wasn't sweet at all. Like this one time. It was before my second heart attack, and I think it was on our... fourth or fifth date. It was the first time I tried to do something nice, and I bought her flowers. I stood in front of her door with a bouquet of roses in my hands; she smiled and said _go get me some lilies, Mitchell._ Then she closed the door in front of me."

"And you weren't discouraged?" Her wife asks in disbelief.

"Hmmm..." The DJ tilts her head slightly. "I was... taken aback. But I already knew how blunt she could be. Anyway, as confused as I was, I went to get her lilies. And when I came back, she thanked me without bringing up about the roses anymore. By not making a big deal out of it, she showed me that it was okay to make mistakes. As long as I was open to learn from it. So, when she made a mistake, I knew I could tell her about it, and she'd be okay with it."

"Oh..." Chloe nods and sighs deeply before she grimaces awkwardly. "Well, in my opinion, it was harsh, and not nice. I wouldn't have told you that way."

"It worked." The DJ points out with a tight lipped smile. "What would you do anyway?"

"I'd still take the roses." Chloe smiles. "And then I'd tell you, _for future reference, my favorite flower is sunflower."_

Beca chuckles, "Of course you would. Thankfully, the first time I bought you flowers, I already did my research. So, I didn't get it wrong. But it's the same. The point is, you'd tell me if I make a mistake. Just in different ways. Yours is sweeter obviously. Because it's you."

"Wouldn't you have preferred sweet than blunt if it's the same result?" The redhead asks cautiously.

"And jumping into someone's shower naked is less blunt how?" Beca retorts with a teasing tone.

"One time." Chloe pouts. "And I politely asked you to sing with me."

" _Naked_." The DJ points out playfully. "And I can vouch on a bible that you didn't ask me politely. You refused to leave if I wasn't gonna sing with you. It was a coercion in a way. You know, pushing someone by making them vulnerably singing naked in a shower stall."

"Babe..." Chloe drags her voice endearingly, still with the cute pouty lips.

Beca barks out a laughter.

"I just..." The redhead seems to be frustrated. "I don't get it. I mean, from what you've told me, she slapped you, she constantly yelled at you, even when you were in the hospital, the fight you had in London, and with the way she talked to you... it just seems a bit abusive for me. I know I did the same in the beginning of our relationship, but I wasn't in the right mind. Besides, when we just got to know each other, I I didn't do that kind of things that. And I could break your wall just fine without treating you harshly back in college."

"Well..." The DJ exhales deeply. "You need to put it into a context and see it as a whole thing. She slapped me once, but I was nearly dead from wrecking myself. And yes, she loved slapping my arm, and yelling at me was most likely her hobby, but it doesn't mean she didn't treat me with respect. She did it only when I was being stupid, or playfully. We can't just put the label abusive whenever there's any signs of abuse. There were a lot more in our relationship than that. And there were so many times that she pushed me subtly. Especially when a fundamental change was needed."

With an apologetic smile, the redhead says, "Maybe you're just... you didn't see it because you were in love with her."

The DJ smiles understandingly and says, "It's the other way around, Chlo. I fell for her because nobody has ever, ever treated me like she did. Remember what my therapist said about unexpected things intrigued me?"

"U huh?" Chloe responds with her eyebrows furrowed, but a light smile is creeping on her face. "You said that's why you fell in love with me in the first place. Because the way I treated you was unexpected."

With her head facing down and her eyes still fixed on her wife's feet, Beca nods and says, "It's the same with her. Apparently, I'm into ladies who could color outside of my lines. And her, well, she came into my life so unexpectedly, in an unexpected time, with an unexpected way. She..." A fond smile appears across her face. "She took my heart by surprise, Chlo. And she colored my life in a way that I had never imagined before."

"By treating you harshly?" Chloe grimaces uncomfortably. "Can you imagine me doing it to you when you were in the freshman year?"

Beca stops on her track to think. After huffing out a long steady breath, the DJ explains calmly, "Honestly, the two of you are so different in so many ways. But before we met again, the way Ashley understood me so easily reminded me of you sometimes. You're just a lot less blunt, and she could be so blunt sometimes when needed. You'd never yell at me no matter what, well, back in college anyway, you had never yelled at me, but she'd yell at me when I was being a stupid asshole. But both of you could break my wall in your own ways."

Chloe is still confused and at lost. "It brings us back to my previous question. Wouldn't you prefer less blunt than harsh?"

Beca looks at her wife and patiently explains, "I guess I could fall in love with you because you were being you, and I could fall in love with her because she was being her. And the two of you knew me at different times as a different person. I wasn't an addict back in college, and life wasn't as complicated as after I left. The way you two treated me, as different as it was, in a way, it suited myself at that time."

"How?" Chloe asks with puzzled look.

"Well... if back in college you had treated me like the way she did, you know, by slapping and yelling at me when we barely knew each other, I wouldn't have fallen in love with you. I would've thought that you were crazy. Well, crazier than someone who broke into my shower. And if Ashley had treated me like the way you did back in college, based on how more closed off I was after Barden and I was a junkie, I wouldn't have fallen in love with her. I would've scoffed and told her to fuck off. Timing."

"Hmmm..." The redhead nods absentmindedly. A huge part of her feels relieved for finding out that her wife appreciate her just the same as Ashley. "So, when she slapped you only in four months after knowing you..."

"It was a hard wake up call." The DJ says with a certain smile that Chloe can't tell what it means. "But I woke up, completely. Felt so alive after sleeping for a very long time. If she hadn't done that, who knows what I would've become right now. And if I didn't meet you back in college, I wouldn't be able to fall in love with anybody. Most likely. You taught me that I could actually fall in love, and she taught me that loving is worth the pain from overcoming my fear. Both of you make me a better person, Chlo. By being who you are. No need to compare yourself to her."

"Hmmm..." Chloe nods absentmindedly. After getting the explanation, she can understand better. She realizes how easily insecurities could cloud her judgment. "You're right. I guess I'm just overstating it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." The DJ says genuinely. "But may I know why are we talking about this, wife?"

Trying to play it cool, Chloe shrugs and says, "She's great, and I... there's a part of me that wonders what you think about both of us as your lover."

"Oh." The brunette stops on her track for a split second. Then she looks at her wife with unreadable expression. "How do you feel about my answer?"

"Hmmm..." The redhead purses her lips. Her wife praise them both just the same, and the reassurance about both her and Ashley have their own roles in Beca's life do give Chloe some relief. She feels lighter for having this conversation. Therefore, she smiles and genuinely says, "I think I should learn to get over my jealousy. Even after everything you had with her, you still came back to me. What's meant to be is meant to be. I'm glad we have this talk, Babe."

Beca smiles in relief. "I'm glad too."

"But how do you feel with me doing what she did to you now?" Chloe asks with a bit of worried look. "Are you okay with that?"

With a smile so fond, the DJ says, "Chloe... you're my wife. Of course I'm okay if you want to do it. But I'm not asking you to do the same just because we're married, or you're trying to prove yourself. I'm glad if you want to do that. But if you're not comfortable being a southern kind of wife, your words not mine, then it's fine by me too. I can take care of myself pretty good now, and I'm not gonna stop giving you a special treatment. Because you're my wife."

"I want to." The redhead beams so brightly. "And I'm happy doing it for you."

Still with the same melting smile, Beca nods and softly says, "Okay. Then you need to get used to the way I'm treating you. But you better not tell anybody about it. I'm sure you don't want any other vultures fighting over me, wife. I'm such a catch."

Chloe chuckles, "I'll keep it to myself. I don't ever want to share my wife with anybody else. Not even your fingernails."

Something about those words nags Beca just a little bit. It isn't because she thinks her wife is being clingy or possessive. It's because she knows that her heart isn't completely Chloe's yet. The smile on her face falters slightly, and she automatically looks down to hide it. Nevertheless, she says, "You won't." She busies herself by pressing her thumb and middle finger onto the crook behind Chloe's ankle. "I'm yours."

"Yep." The redhead pops the P. "And I will only share you with peanut."

At the mention of their baby, Beca looks up at Chloe again and smiles. "And the rest of the little redheads who will come after her."

Finding out that the brunette wants more for their little family flutters Chloe's heart, and it brings spark into her blue eyes. "And the rest of the _hopefully_ little redheads who will come after her. We still don't know if our kids will have red hair, Baby."

"Oh they will, wife." Beca grins goofily and stands up. "Trust me on this. The Beale's force is gonna be strong in this one."

"Where are you going?"

"Scoot." The DJ says as she shuffles to sit behind her wife. Then she starts massaging Chloe's shoulders.

"Oh, God." Chloe moans and closes her eyes as she stirs her neck slightly. "I can really really live with this for the rest of my life."

Beca simply kisses the back of Chloe's shoulder.

A couple of seconds later, the redhead burps loudly. "Ooops..." and she giggles.

It makes the brunette chuckle lightly. "I guess we've reached that point now, huh wife? Only on our first day of marriage. Wow."

"Yep." Chloe pops the P. "You've married me. So, I'm not afraid of doing disgusting stuff in front of you anymore. You have to keep loving me anyway."

The DJ laughs lightly and says, "If I remember it right, Mrs. Mitchell, and I'm pretty sure that I do, you've farted and burped in front of me for thousands of times back in college. You know, when I still called you Miss Beale."

"U huh." The redhead nods, smiling cheerfully. "But it was before we met again. Ten years you were gone, and I needed some re-adjustment, Babe."

"And now you're re-adjusted?"

Beca's tone is playful, and Chloe grins proudly. "Yep. Soon enough, I'll start farting in front of you."

The DJ laughs even louder, and she actually farts from laughing. "Oops... I beat you to that."

"Geez, Babe..." Chloe scrunches her nose and waves her hand in front of her face. "It smells awful."

"Well, that's how adjusted I am with you, wife." The DJ tries to hold back her laughter. "Awfully adjusted, aren't I?"

"Hmph." Chloe pouts, and then she turns her head aside to kiss her wife's cheek over her shoulder. "I still love you. Even though your fart smells like garbage."

"You have to." The DJ smirks.

Then they remain silent. Just enjoying the moment. Chloe is massaging her wife's thighs gently while humming lightly to A Thousand Years.

On the other hand, the brunette is rubbing a loofah on the redhead's arms and stomach. However, Beca's mind walks down the memory lane. She remembers a specific moment at the beginning of her relationship with Ashley.

* * *

_**Short Flashback** _

The blonde wasn't shy to fart or burp in front of her, but the DJ was very careful not to do that kind of stuff in front of her _not yet_ a girlfriend back then. It took her a while to do it. She just got out of the hospital after the second heart attack, and Ashley was staying with her almost all the time to take care of her. Obviously, she couldn't just run into the bathroom whenever she felt like farting or burping.

When she accidentally farted with Ashley around, the blonde stared at her with an unreadable look.

Beca's face was flushed in red, and she muttered shyly, "Sorry. Didn't mean to do it in front of you."

Contrary to what the DJ had expected, instead of making fun of her, Ashley was grinning from ear to ear. "Finally. I was waiting for this moment you know, where you'd feel comfortable enough to fart in front of me."

"Why?"

Ashley shrugged, "It means you've become more comfortable with me. Like I am with you."

"You farted on our second date." Beca pointed out with bored look. "And it was only around a month after our first meeting."

Ashley gasped over dramatically and exclaimed, "But you're easy to be comfortable with!"

"That mean you're not easy to be comfortable with?" The DJ smirked.

"Nu uh." The blonde smiled mischievously. "It's not my fault that it took you five months to feel comfy with me, slowpoke."

While rolling her eyes playfully, the brunette chuckled. "I'll fart more often around you then. Might as well find you every time I feel like farting. You know, just to show you how comfortable I am with you."

Ashley threw her head back and laughed whole heartily; the laughter that never failed to flutter Beca's heart since the first time they met, even until the years after.

* * *

"I never thought that the first day of our marriage would be so simple."

Chloe's soft voice pulls the brunette out of her daze. "Do you want something not simple?" She asks as she rubs the loofah on the redhead's chest from behind.

"No." Chloe leans her head back into the crook of Beca's neck. "This is perfect. Who'd say no to a free massage?"

Beca chuckles, "Good to know. Last night must have been tiring. The wedding, and then... you know, the marathon."

"You wore me out, Babe." The redhead teases. "I'm sore. It's crazy how many times you could go at one time."

"Oh, it was nothing, wife." The DJ says smugly. "I could've gone for more."

"You could?" Chloe asks comically.

"You have no idea about the perks of being a late bloomer." Beca says with a cocky tone. "My pent up sexual tension could power up LA for a long time. Deep down, I mean, down there, I'm still a horny teenager."

Chloe laughs and says, "Lucky me."

Then the brunette starts nipping the redhead's earlobe with her lips, making her wife moaning softly.

 _"I do know something we can do to make today more... interesting."_ The redhead says with husky voice.

 _"U huh?"_ The DJ whispers near her wife's ear.

The warm breaths on the sensitive area of her ear makes Chloe shiver.

* * *

_**Smut** _

Without saying anything, Chloe takes the brunette's left hand and leads it to her core. _"Thanks for the massage and rubbing... I'm so wet already."_ She says in barely a whisper while spreading her legs.

"So?" Beca teases as she presses her middle finger onto the redhead's clit.

" _Oh..."_ Chloe moans softly. Then she looks aside and cups Beca's cheek with one hand to make the brunette looking back at her. _"You know what I want."_

"Say it." The DJ hovers her lips over her wife's as she rubs Chloe's clit in a small circle with the tip of her finger.

With her eyes closed, Chloe swallows hard and breathes out, _"You... in me... Fuck me, Babe. Please..."_

Beca smirks and thrusts her middle finger into her wife's core.

" _Oh, God..."_

"Like this?" The brunette thrusts her finger gently in and out.

" _U huh."_ Chloe breathes out as she takes the brunette's other hand and presses it onto her breast. _"But... but harder..."_

The brunette slips two fingers into the redhead's core, while her other hand kneads Chloe's breast. "How about this?"

Chloe's mouth is wide open, and the heavy ragged exhaling coming out of it is answer enough.

Then the DJ curls her fingers inside, and twirls them to touch the most sensitive spot in it while pressing her thumb onto the clit.

" _Yes... Oh, yes... Like that, Baby..."_ Chloe reaches the back of Beca's neck with one hand from up front, gripping it tightly and grinds her hips, rhyming with Beca's movement.

Beca is watching, seeing closely how flushed Chloe is, listening to the sound of her breathing, feeling the melting warm breaths coming out of her lips on her own. She herself is breathing heavily. Even only by making her wife trembling under her touch, can send shiver down her spine. It makes her build the pace faster and harder.

Chloe moans repeatedly and loudly, grasping the back of her wife's neck even tighter. When the last hit shocks her, she becomes tensed for a second, and her breath hitched. In that second, she feels like there's an explosion in her chest, and she's shattered by pleasure. Then Beca pulls her fingers out, and she becomes relaxed.

Trying not to let her wife sliding down under water, the DJ wraps her arms around the redhead's stomach and kisses the back of her head gently.

When Chloe's breathing becomes even, she turns around and straddles the brunette's waist. She clasps her hands on the back of Beca's neck and says with husky voice, _"I want more."_

The brunette smirks and replies, "Right away." Then she moves her hands to Chloe's back, and starts drawing the tip of her fingers from the back of the redhead's neck, down to the butt cheeks.

That simple gesture sends electrical sensation down the redhead's spine, and she sips air through her teeth with her eyes closed.

On the other hand, the DJ is smiling, enjoying the look on Chloe's face. Then she leans forward to take Chloe's nipple into her mouth.

 _"Oh, fuck..."_ Shocked, the redhead throws her head back with her eyes closed. She's shivering, especially with her wife's fingertips caressing the curve on her side up and down, drawing closer and closer to her core each time they go downward.

Then Beca moves her lips to the other nipple, while her thumb is teasing Chloe's widened clit. She's licking, nipping, sucking, and even biting the redhead's hardened nipple gently.

Chloe is moaning softly, and then she holds herself up on her knees. Beca automatically moves one hand to the small on the redhead's back to hold her steady.

Wanting to feel more, the redhead cups her wife's cheeks dearly and leans downward to crash their lips into a searing kiss. Their tongues are battling for dominance, and no one seems like backing down until air becomes emergency.

Chloe parts their lips and rests her forehead onto Beca's. Her eyes are still closed, but her mouth is wide open to gasp some air raggedly. _"Now, please..."_ She breathes out.

Beca thrusts two fingers into her wife, and Chloe grasps the back of her head even tighter.

 _"Yes..."_ The redhead moans, and when her wife adds another finger, she cries out, _"Fuck, yes... oh yes, Baby..."_ With her lips chanting in raspy voice, she moves her hips and arches her back along with the brunette's rhyme.

There's a split second when Chloe opens her eyes, and she catches the view of Beca's tattoo on the left chest. She automatically presses herself onto her wife, and wraps the DJ's shoulders even tighter with her arms. It's her way to subconsciously avoid seeing that tattoo, trying to push it out of her mind.

Failing to notice that gesture, Beca nuzzles her face into the crook of her wife's neck and starts sucking on the pulse point. Still curling, twisting her fingers in and out of the redhead's core while teasing the clit with her thumb.

 _"Yes... Oh, oh, oh, oh fuck yes... Keep going, Babe... I-"_ Chloe swallows hard, still grinding her hips. _"I'm coming..."_

It's clear from the tightened core, Chloe is about to come again. Beca smirks and stops on her track.

_"Babe!"_

"Look at me."

Chloe rolls her slightly opened dilated eyes, but she complies. She pulls herself backward a little bit to look at her wife right in the eye. _"Hurry... Make me come, Baby..."_ She pleads.

Upon seeing the hungry look on her wife's face, the DJ's eyes go dark. Then she nudges her fingers onto the spongy spot in Chloe's core, and pushes her thumb onto Chloe clit at the same time. She tries to keep her eyes open to see the spark coming out of Chloe when the shockwave hits.

Chloe jerks as she comes, moaning loudly, and then she collapses onto her wife breathlessly.

Liquid is pouring out of the redhead's core when Beca pulls out her fingers slowly. "Easy..." She whispers as she wraps her arms around her wife's back tightly. "You okay, wife?"

"I... I'm so dizzy, Babe." Chloe breathes out with her forehead rested on the brunette's collarbone, still trying to gasp some air into her lungs.

"We've been in here for too long." The DJ is worried now. "Combined with the sex and orgasms, your blood pressure must have dropped. Come on. Let's get you to bed."

Without saying anything, the redhead nods and lets her wife help her up. When Beca is drying her, Chloe just drops her chin onto her wife's shoulder and hugs her tightly because she's limping.

They're still damp, but the DJ wants to take her wife back into the bedroom as quickly as possible. She makes sure that the redhead drinks up a huge glass of water to keep her hydrated.

_**End of smut** _

* * *

When she's already wrapped in Beca's arms on the bed, Chloe mumbles, "I want to return the favor, Babe... But later. Promise."

Upon seeing how worn out the redhead is, Beca smiles understandingly and kisses her forehead. "It's okay. Just rest, wife."

With a contented smile, Chloe nuzzles her nose into the crook of her wife's neck.

Then Beca hums softly, lulling her wife into the slumber. Not even five minutes later, Chloe has already fallen asleep. Gently, the DJ pulls herself backward and looks at her wife's sleeping face.

Chloe's lips are slightly parted, and her chest is heaving steadily. Upon seeing how peaceful her wife's look, a fond smile appears on Beca's face. She has never seen this kind of glow coming from Chloe, and she has a feeling that she will never get tired of it. She takes her time to study the redhead's face all over; her pinkish lips, her rosy cheeks, her pointy nose, the damp short hair on her hairline, and the last, the scar on her forehead.

Gently, she runs her thumb on the scar, feeling the crook on that skin. She knows the scar came from an accident when Chloe was only two years old. The redhead tripped and fell onto a brick in front of her house.

With a light smile, Beca kisses Chloe all over the face, brushing her lips softly starting from the forehead, the eyelids, down to the cheeks and nose, and the lips. Then she untangles herself gently and puts on some clothes.

Beca is over the edge, and she needs to do something to let off the steam. Therefore, she decides to work out. For an hour and a half, she does some cardio combined with light weight lift in their home gym, and then she takes a shower.

Even then, Chloe is still sleeping soundly. However, the DJ isn't worried at all. Based on what they read this morning, a pregnant woman needs more sleep than usual because the body is still adjusting to the pregnancy.

In addition, Chloe has been working so hard in the last couple of months to prepare their wedding. With Beca's absence for staying at the hospital, combined with the tension to make everything as perfect as she wanted, she definitely deserves some rest.

Instead of bothering her wife, Beca goes downstairs to the living room. After making an appointment with Doctor Montgomery for the afternoon, she orders some delivery and starts looking for any series to watch. While waving her hand in front of the TV to find a decent show, her eyes catch Pretty Little Liars. She hesitates for a second, but she chooses it anyway.

Beca navigates to the latest season that she hasn't watched yet. Usually, this is something she would do with Ashley. Not this time obviously. The first episode almost comes to the end when the bell rings.

"Must be food." She pauses the show and goes to get the delivery. Then she goes to the kitchen to put Chloe's lunch into the microwave before going back into the living room. Her lunch for today is avocado chicken salad lettuce wraps, and she's having it while watching PLL.

During the second episode, there's one scene that takes her breath away; Hanna Marin laughing. She pauses it instantly and simply looks at Ashley's smiling face; the deep dimples on her cheeks, and the crinkles by the corner of her crescent moon eyes.

A light smile appears on the DJ's face, and she sighs contentedly. It's just a smile, but it still affects her in the same way as before. It's been a while, half a year actually, since she saw Ashley laughing. Therefore, she replays that particular scene over and over again.

Around ten minutes later, Chloe calls her from the bedroom upstairs. "Babe?!" Her voice is loud, but it sounds like she's still gathering her senses after waking up.

"Coming!" The DJ clears the watched history and goes to the kitchen to get Chloe's lunch. Then she walks upstairs to the bedroom with a tray of food in her hands.

When her wife comes in, Chloe is sitting on the bed, leaning on the headboards. She's still not wearing anything, but her waist down is covered under Beca's Bali sarong.

"Hey." Beca puts down the tray on the night stand near her wife and kisses Chloe chastely on the lips. "How's nap, wife?"

With a smile so bright, the redhead answers, "It was great."

"Good." Beca says as she gets on her side of the bed. "Now lunch, Mrs. Mitchell. Then we can go to the doctor. I've made an appointment for us at 04.00 PM."

"Okay."

Since Beca has already eaten, she lies on her side, holding up her head on her elbow and rubs her wife's stomach gently.

"Why don't you eat?"

"I've had lunch earlier." The DJ replies before landing a kiss on the side of Chloe's stomach.

Chloe simply smiles fondly. Then she continues eating and reading the e-book. Halfway through eating, she asks, "What did you do when I was sleeping?" When she doesn't get any responses, Chloe moves the iPad out of her sight to look at her wife.

Apparently, the brunette has fallen asleep. She is lying on her side with her head next to Chloe's stomach, and her hand on it.

It certainly warms the redhead's chest to see her wife is so protective to their baby. While sighing contentedly, she caresses Beca's head with the back of her hand, and then she finishes her food.

Once she's done, she pulls away gently from her wife, and then she takes another shower. As she walks out of the bathroom, only wrapped in a towel, she sees Beca's sleeping face. There's something in that look that tickles the area in between her legs. She drops the towel onto the floor immediately. Then she climbs onto the bed and lies on her side next to her wife.

* * *

_**Another smut** _

Chloe slips one hand onto Beca's back under the shirt, and starts rubbing it gently as she nibbles the brunette's earlobe in between her lips.

"Hmmm..." The DJ smiles, and then she mumbles. "Someone's asking for the second round."

With a devilish smirk, the redhead corrects, "Third round." She pushes Beca gently to lie on her back, and lies herself half on top of her. Then she cups Beca's cheek with one hand and kisses her on the lips. When she deepens the kiss, she feels one of Beca's hands on the back of her head, and the other one on the small of her back. She slips her tongue into the DJ's mouth, and starts unbuttoning her wife's shortpants at the same time.

Beca helps by kicking the pants off her feet while her left hand is already kneading Chloe's bare breast. They break the kiss just for a second so the brunette can pull out her shirt. Then the DJ crashes her lips onto her wife's again.

Chloe parts her lips, letting the DJ suck her bottom lip hungrily. Heat is starting to build up, and she can feel her core is already damp. After they break the kiss, she opens her eyes to look into her wife's dilated ones. Their faces are so close to each others, and they stare into each other's eyes.

With luscious look, Beca presses a thumb against Chloe's reddish swollen bottom lip and pulls it down gently.

The redhead just can't help herself. She nudges the tip of her nose onto the brunette's and takes the thumb into her mouth to suck it gently.

Beca's eyes roll back, and she grunts through her throat.

Still sucking the DJ's thumb in her mouth, the redhead trails her right hand downward and touches her wife's core.

Suddenly, the DJ feels like her head isn't as clouded as before. "Not so fast, Mrs. Mitchell." She says as she flips their positions swiftly.

"But I want to return the favor." Chloe pouts, caged with her wife's arms next to her own arms.

"After I give you the favor, then you can return it."

"But you have gi-"

Beca cuts her off by leaning downward to kiss her hungrily.

Without so much of resistance, the redhead returns the kiss just as eagerly, and grasps Beca's brown locks on the back of her head. Lips are bitten, teeth are clicking, tongues are swirling, and breaths are melting into one.

Then air comes between them, and Beca pulls downward, curving her back, hovering her lips, landing wet kisses down from the redhead's neck to the belly button. Her hair is let down, and it brushes her wife's soft skin along the way, making Chloe shivering from the ticklish electrical sensation.

When the brunette bites the skin above her belly button gently, Chloe moans softly, and she automatically opens up her legs even wider. When Beca's lips found their way to her labia, Chloe's breaths hitched, and she arches her back, asking for more.

The DJ smirks and parts her wife's labia gently with the tip of her tongue. Warm liquid melts onto her tongue instantly, and she loves the taste of it. She teases Chloe's core, flicking the tip of her tongue in a circle not too hard, just enough to hear Chloe whimper impatiently. Then she crawls back up and pushes her hair back. Gently, she thrusts her tongue into her wife's mouth with just a swift flick before she pulls it out. "You taste that?" She breathes out with her lips just millimeters away from the redhead's.

Even though she's a bit light headed from the blood rush, the redhead can feel it, a slightly salty taste in her mouth. With her eyes slightly opened, she nods. "U huh."

"It's yours." Beca teases with husky voice. "You're so wet already, wife."

Chloe bites her bottom lip seductively and says with raspy voice that could bring any men down to their knees, "I'm always wet around you."

Upon hearing the redhead's sensual voice, the DJ lets out a loud growl from her throat. She aligns their clits and starts grinding her hips.

Chloe automatically wraps her legs around the brunette's waist and shifts her hips, rhyming with her wife's. Then she pulls Beca's head downward to kiss her fiercely.

Beca is overwhelmed with desire. Therefore, even though her arms are sore from holding herself up, nothing can stop her from getting higher and higher for having the redhead writhing under her.

Trying to get some air, Chloe parts their lips, but she keeps their faces close, hands on the brunette's cheeks. Both are breathing heavily, raggedly. Every sip of air Chloe takes, inhaling their melted warm breath, it is suffocating, but she just can't get enough of it. She can feel it down there, both of them are so wet and slick.

Chloe is distracted by Beca's hair that gets into her eyes. Therefore, she wraps and moves the wavy brown locks to her wife's back. Through her slightly opened eyes, Chloe can see Beca's face more clearly now. It's just a split second, but the view comes to redhead in a slow motion. She can tell that desire is flaring up in her wife, and she loves that look before her eyes.

The brunette's eyes are closed, and her mouth is wide open. Harsh damp loud breathing is coming out of the DJ's lips.

As Beca grinds her hips even harder, the redhead closes her eyes and moans loudly. _"Fuck... Oh, oh, oh, oh..."_

Then the wave hits them both like a lightning strike. For a second, it feels like the earth stops spinning. A second later, the redhead releases her wife, and Beca pushes herself to lie next to her. The DJ doesn't want to lie on Chloe, because she's afraid of putting too much pressure on her stomach.

"You were..." Beca says through ragged breaths. "I- I thought my heart was... was gonna give up on me."

Still trying to steady her breathing, Chloe simply chuckles. She turns her head to look at her wife. Ever since Beca surrendered completely, Chloe has never missed to look at her face after orgasm. Knowing that her wife is satisfied, makes her warm in the chest. When her breaths become even, she flips on her side and takes Beca's nipple into her mouth so suddenly.

 _"Shit!"_ The DJ curses under her breath as she lifts her chin up.

Chloe smirks onto the brunette's breast. Her lips are sucking Beca's left nipple, and she uses one hand to nibble the other nipple.

Beca exhales harshly and runs her fingers through her wife's hair to grasp it gently.

Satisfied with the brunette's breasts, Chloe starts peppering wet kisses all over her stomach, making her trembling.

As Chloe pulls herself backward to put her crotch onto Beca's thigh, she wraps and moves her hair onto her right shoulder. She can see that her wife is looking at her with dark eyes, and she bites her bottom lip seductively.

A loud grunt coming from the DJ's throat shows that she has become impatient. Seeing the redhead sitting on her, glowing all over the sweaty skin, with perky breasts so challenging, it certainly evokes the beast in Beca's stomach. There's something she really needs Chloe to do, but she just can't say it out loud. She flexes her neck with such a tension to hold herself back.

Beca is breathing heavily with her mouth wide open. She wants it so badly to feel Chloe's teeth and fingernails on her skin, digging, raking, and scraping their way on her back, her shoulders, her jaw, her lips, the curve on her side. The words are on the tip of her tongue, but she has always been bad with conveying what she wants in sex directly.

Nevertheless, Chloe can see that her wife is hungrily waiting for her. Still with her bottom lip in between her teeth, she draws two fingers from her wife's belly button, down to the core very slowly. She loves seeing how vulnerable Beca is when they're making love. Then she splits the brunette's labia with her index finger, pressing the clit with just the tip of her finger, and then trails further down to the wet core. However, she doesn't thrust them in yet. Instead, she teases the outer area of the core with the tip of her fingers.

 _"Jesus, Chlo!"_ The DJ snaps impatiently with hoarse voice. _"The fuck are you waiting for?"_

With a winning smirk, Chloe thrust her fingers into her wife, and starts grinding her hips, rubbing her clit against the brunette's thigh at the same time.

 _"Fuck!"_ Beca arches her back and grasps her own hair tightly. All of her other needs are pushed to the back of her mind, and she just lets herself drown in pleasure.

Chloe builds the pace faster and harder.

Wanting to feel more, the DJ pushes herself up with her right elbow, and reaches the back of Chloe's head with her left hand. Then she pulls the redhead downward a bit harshly to crash their lips.

 _"Mmph."_ Chloe muffles against her wife's lips. She's nearly coming, and she can feel how tightened Beca's pulsing core is. Therefore, she twirls her fingers into Beca harder and faster, trying to make them come together again.

A loud growl roars from the brunette's throat.

They hit the highest wave together. In that short moment, Chloe can feel it; her wife is shuddering. She herself collapses onto the brunette breathlessly. Then she slows down her fingers before pulling them out of her wife's core.

_**End of smut** _

* * *

Although she's still breathing heavily, remembering the prior love making, Beca leans her head upward to kiss the top of Chloe's head. "You okay, wife?" She asks worriedly.

"U huh."

The DJ drops her head back, exhaling in relief. Both of them are still trying to catch some breaths, and Beca absentmindedly rubs her wife's back gently up and down.

After her breathing is steady, Chloe moves to lie beside her wife, and Beca automatically scoots downward to kiss her stomach. "Be okay in there, peanut."

With her eyes closed, Chloe chuckles and caresses Beca's head, running her fingers through the brown locks.

Then Beca scoots upward again to lie on her side next to her wife, head held up on her elbow. Smiling lightly, she brushes the damp hair off Chloe's face and rests her hand on Chloe's stomach. She takes her time to look at her wife's flushed face.

The redhead's skin is glowing from the sweat, her bright red hair is messy, sprawled on her sweaty cheeks, forehead, and neck, and her lips are swollen. Her eyes are still closed, and her chest is heaving in a steady rhythm.

Seeing that look fills Beca's chest with warmth. With a contented smile, she kisses her wife's temple and mumbles, "I love you."

Chloe turns on her side, smiling ever so fondly when she replies, "I love you too, Babe."

Then they just lie in a comfortable silent while looking into each other's eyes. The redhead's hand is on the DJ's jaw, caressing her cheek with a thumb. Meanwhile, Beca is drawing her thumb on the side of Chloe's stomach. They are smiling at each other so fondly, savoring the moment of having one another closely.

No other words can describe Chloe's feeling but serene right now. Especially with the way her wife is looking at her. She's curious, because she has never seen that fond look coming from her wife before they the night before they got married. Eventually, after five minutes or so, she breaks the silence. "What?"

"What?"

With her cheeks flushed and a beaming smile, the redhead mutters, "The way you're looking at me, I think I can melt into a goo."

Beca chuckles, "I'm just amazed with the glowing look coming from my pregnant wife. We were sabbatical for two months, and I noticed this look when we made love after I found out about the pregnancy. It's not like you're not glowing before, because you're always beaming sunshine, but... it feels different."

With a contented smile, Chloe whispers, "I thought I couldn't love you more. But I was wrong. You made me fall even deeper every single day, Becs."

The smile on Beca's face becomes wider and fonder, and she leans forward to kiss her wife's forehead gently. "I feel the same." She softly says.

Suddenly, the look on the redhead's face changes. There's a hint of caution coming from her when she calls, "Babe?"

"Hm?"

"How come you never let me do you the favor first?"

Beca becomes tensed for a second, and then she glances her eyes away before she deflects, "Really?"

"U huh." Chloe responds with her lips slightly pursed, looking a bit confused and curious. "I realized it just before we made love this time. I mean, when we were still dating, I thought it was because you weren't ready to let me do the favor. But now..."

Trying yet failing to put up a casual manner, the DJ ends up grimacing awkwardly as she says, "Must be a coincidence. Never really keep a track."

"Coincidence?" Chloe asks with her eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't let me just now."

Beca can't even look at her wife when she mutters, "I don't know. It just happened." She steals a quick glance, and when Chloe just keeps staring at her with puzzled curious look, she tries to pull away and says, "Let's go get ready. We have an appointment."

However, the redhead pulls her back, cupping her cheek with one hand so she can look at her directly. "We're not done talking about this." She softly says, but she's obviously concerned, looking from her slightly wrinkled forehead. "We're gonna put a pin on it, and we'll talk about it again later."

Knowing that sooner or later it will be brought up, the DJ sighs heavily and mutters, "Fine."

"Okay." Chloe smiles and kisses her wife chastely on the lips before getting up from the bed.

* * *

**At The Clinic**

"I think I'm pregnant, doc." Chloe says with a beaming smile. "I've tested it repeatedly, and it was all positive."

"Alright." Doctor Montgomery smiles. "Let's do an ultrasound to confirm."

With a comical surprised look, Beca says, "But based on what we read, the fetus couldn't be seen at least until week six, and it'd be better to look at it in week eight."

"Yes." The doctor says. "But we can see if there's a sac in Chloe's uterus with a transvaginal ultrasound."

"A what?" Chloe asks.

"Come here." Doctor Montgomery gestures her hand to the bed.

Chloe lies on the bed, and the DJ stands right next to her to hold her hand.

"This will be a bit cold." The doctor says before she pours out some kind of liquid on Chloe's stomach.

"Yea, it's cold." Chloe cringes. "I've done this before, but it still gives me chill."

"Okay." The doctor says. "Your bladder is only a quarter full. I need you to drink a lot of water to make it full. Then we can do the procedure in thirty minutes or so, and I will explain to you what a sac is."

"Why the bladder has to be full?" Beca asks.

"Well, transvaginal ultrasound is a procedure to check the reproduction organ." The doctor explains patiently. "I will have to insert a probe into Chloe's vagina, and then we can see the image on the monitor. To get a clear image of uterus in a pregnant woman, the bladder has to be full."

"Oh." The DJ nods absentmindedly. "Since it's still in thirty minutes or so, should we wait in the cafeteria?"

"No, it's not necessary." Doctor Montgomery smiles. "You're my last appointment for today. Now Beca, why don't you go get Chloe two bottles of water?"

"Right away." Beca says before she walks out of the examination room.

As Chloe sits back up, the doctor sees the wedding ring on her finger and says, "Congratulations are in order."

After her eyes catch the item Doctor Montgomery is looking at, the redhead smiles and says, "We just got married yesterday."

"Glad to hear that." The doctor smiles warmly. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." The redhead says, but then she smiles apologetically. "And please keep it a secret. We haven't announce anything to the public yet. With my wife's job and all..."

With a calming smile, Doctor Montgomery says, "Don't worry. Doctor patient confidentiality. Now, let me draw some blood."

Chloe simply nods and stretches her arm to the doctor. Then a nurse comes in to take the blood sample.

"Please make it fast, Grace." Doctor Montgomery commands softly.

"Of course, doc. Half an hour tops." The nurse replies before walking out of the room.

Then the doctor and Chloe go back to sit around the desk. Around two minutes later, Beca comes back into the room and takes a seat next to her wife before handing the bottles. Chloe drinks it immediately. Two bottles of water are gone in an instant.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Mitchell." Doctor Montgomery says to the brunette.

"For?"

"For the wedding." The doctor smiles.

"Oh." The DJ rubs the back of her neck shyly. "Thanks."

"Aw..." The redhead coos. "She's blushing."

While the doctor is chuckling lightly, Beca mutters with her cheeks a bit flushed, "Shut up."

Then Chloe tells the doctor about the wedding ceremony. Beca simply looks at her excited wife from aside with a light smile on her face. She really enjoys looking at her pregnant wife. There's something that pulls her in; a kind of joy that she has never felt before.

Doctor Montgomery sees that look, and she says to Chloe, "Seems like this one is hooked deeply into you."

Chloe chuckles and turns to look at her wife fondly. "She is. I got her wrapped in between my fingers since college."

"Nu uh." Beca smirks. "She just lied, doc. It's the other way around. She couldn't have enough of my snarky badass personality."

The doctor simply chuckles, and Chloe just can't help herself but kissing the brunette on the lips chastely.

Suddenly, the nurse named Grace comes back and hands the result to Doctor Montgomery.

"Thanks, Grace." The Doctor says.

"You're welcome, doc." Grace says before walking out of the room.

After reading the result, Doctor Montgomery says, "Based on the bloodwork, you're very pregnant, Chloe." She smiles at the couple. "Congratulations."

Even though it's not news anymore, Chloe squeals joyfully and hugs her wife tightly from aside. It's like fireworks is bursting in her chest, and she just can't hold it to herself.

Meanwhile, Beca just chuckles lightly upon seeing how excited her wife is. She herself is overjoyed with the confirmation.

Then the redhead breaks the hug, and cringes. "I think my bladder is full."

"Okay. Let's check it again." The doctor stands up. Then they do the same procedure as before, and she says, "It's full. You can change into a robe back there." She points a door behind the bed.

Chloe simply nods and goes to change. Then she walks back in and lies on the bed again.

"Put your legs up." The doctor says while preparing the device. "I will insert this probe into your vagina, and it's going to be a bit uncomfortable."

"Okay." Chloe takes a deep breath and looks at her wife.

Without saying anything, Beca simply takes Chloe's hand into hers and gives her a reassuring nod.

Then the doctor thrusts the probe into Chloe gently.

The redhead cringes a bit, but she doesn't complain.

Beca herself is a bit nervous. She's staring at the monitor, pressing her lips tightly with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Alright, the device is in." The doctor says while looking for something on the monitor, and then she points at it. "You see that black circle?"

"Yea?" Beca responds.

"That, is called a gestational sac." Doctor Montgomery says. "It's a cavity where you're fetus will grow."

Beca grins while staring at the monitor. She's looking at just a tiny dark spot in Chloe's uterus, but it's more than enough to fill her chest with warmth that glistens her eyes.

"Babe..." The redhead calls with shaky voice and her eyes teary, attention fixed on the monitor. "That's our peanut."

Still with a huge grin on her face and her wife's hand in hers, the DJ turns to look at Chloe and caresses her head gently. Then she looks back at the monitor again while asking, "Can we have the picture, doc?"

"Of course." Doctor Montgomery presses a button on the machine. "I'll give one to each of you."

"Thanks." Beca replies before kissing her wife's forehead.

"Now I'm going to pull the probe out." The doctor says, and then she pulls the device gently out of Chloe's vagina.

After that, Chloe goes to change back into her clothes before going to the bathroom.

On the other hand, Beca goes to sit in front of the doctor's desk again.

"Here." The doctor hands the pictures to Beca.

Beca looks at the picture, grinning from ear to ear while staring at just a tiny dark spot in that picture. "How far is my wife, doc?"

"Three weeks and five days supposedly."

"Thanks." The brunette takes a marker from the desk and writes _Peanut Munchkin Mitchell: 3 weeks and 5 days_ on the back of the picture. Then she takes out her wallet from her messenger bag, and puts the picture of her soon to be baby over the picture of her and Ashley. As Chloe walks out of the changing room, the DJ puts her wallet back into her bag.

"Have you got the pictures yet?" Chloe asks while sitting down next to her wife.

"Yep." Beca hands the reminding picture to her wife. "Here's yours."

Chloe looks at it, smiling ever so fondly as she asks, "Where's yours?"

"I've kept mine in the safest place."

With a smile so bright, the redhead looks at her wife and says, "I'm so happy, Babe."

"Me too." The DJ says before she kisses her wife's forehead.

It's not unusual for the doctor to see any couples seem to be so happy for finding out about the pregnancy. She simply smiles and says, "I just told Beca that you're supposedly three weeks and five days into pregnancy."

Chloe starts counting in her mind and says, "It means the due date will be..."

"If it's in a full term, then you'll be in labor around late January next year." Doctor Montgomery says.

"I can't wait!" Chloe shrieks.

Doctor Montgomery chuckles and says, "You better wait. I will prescribe you with some vitamins, and from now on, you'll consume milk for pregnancy every day. Eat healthily, and exercise only for necessity. And please be extra careful for the next couple of weeks. Week four and five is a very important phase. If you notice some spotting, don't be alarmed. It's pretty common. But you have to come in to check it out. Just try to relax as much as you can."

Chloe simply nods excitedly. "We'll be having a meditation retreat. So, I think I'll be more than relaxed in the next few weeks."

"Good idea." The doctors says. "If nothing alarming happens, you need to come back in week eight, and we can do another ultrasound."

"Okay." Beca stands up and shakes Doctor Montgomery's hand. "Thanks, doc."

"You're welcome."

Chloe walks to the doctor and hugs her tightly.

"Oh. A hugger." The doctor smiles awkwardly.

"Thank you, Doctor Montgomery." Chloe says.

"You're welcome, Chloe." The doctor pats Chloe's back gently. "And you two can start calling me Addison. We'll be seeing each other a lot in the next nine months. At least once in a month."

"Okay." Chloe nods excitedly.

"Uh, Doc." Beca says. "About the meditation retreat, do you think it's safe for my pregnant wife to fly in a chopper for a couple of hours?"

"As long as the flight is smooth, it's safe." The Doctor says. "Just ask the pilot to make it a bump less flight, and she should be fine."

Beca smiles in relief and says, "Thanks."

Then the couple walk out of the room.

* * *

In the car, Beca just keeps holding Chloe's hand. Their fingers are laced tightly on her thigh. When they're at the red light, she will kiss the back of Chloe's hand gently. Nothing can seem to bring her down one of these days. She is beyond happy, and she intends to keep it that way.

"I can't wait to tell our sisters about it." The redhead says excitedly.

"We can tell them today if you want. They're at Stacie's right?"

"Really?!" Chloe exclaims.

"Yea." The DJ nods with her eyes fixed on the road. "I've told my friends anyway, including Emily."

The light in Chloe's eyes dims a bit when she asks, "You did? When?"

Even though she's not looking at the redhead, Beca can feel a bit change of tone in her voice. She smiles apologetically and says, "Right before our wedding."

"But you told me not to tell our friends." Chloe states with her eyebrows furrowed.

"No." Beca says calmly. "I told you not to tell our sisters. Not our friends."

"What's the difference?" The redhead asks. She's a bit upset, but more confused. "The Bellas are our sisters, _and_ our friends."

"It's totally different, Chlo." The DJ says matter-of-factly, but still with a calm tone. "Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. We're going to tell them today anyway."

Chloe sighs deeply. She knows that her wife is not comfortable with the Bellas. Considering if she should ask, the redhead bites her bottom lip and glances at the brunette nervously. They're having a really good day, and she just doesn't want to ruin it out of curiosity. However, her love to her sisters trumps her own convenience. She knows that she still has to go smoothly though. After two minutes or so, she takes a deep breath and says, "Babe, I want to ask you something. But promise you won't get upset about it."

"Sure."

Before she talks, the redhead squeezes her wife's hand gently. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that you're still not comfortable around our sisters." She softly says. "I mean, you didn't go to their tables last night, not until Flo called you, and you didn't even stay long. Is it because they helped me planning our wedding without asking you? You know that it's on me, right?"

Beca takes a quick glance at her wife and huffs out a long steady breath. "No, it's not because of the wedding plan. I just... I don't know. Maybe because I'm not used to hang out with them anymore. You know, ten years is a very long time, and in that time, I found... well, I found people who could make me feel more comfortable."

"But Babe..." Chloe drags her voice dearly. "We're the Bellas. We're family and sisters for life."

"Maybe that's the problem." The DJ mutters.

"What do you mean?"

Beca shrugs, "When the Bellas say family, sometimes... they make you do things you're not comfortable with. Just because, you know, because you're family. In the Bellas, it's like... the word sisters and family have become some kind of magic words. When it's said, you have no other option but to... go with it. Or you'd not be considered as a sister anymore."

With puzzled look, the redhead says, "I still don't get it. If it's not about the wedding plan, what do you mean by they make you do things you're not uncomfortable with?"

"It's just..." The DJ raises her shoulders and shakes her head. She can't say anything else without telling Chloe the truth. Therefore, she sighs heavily and deflects, "Last night... I was just... well, you know, I'm closer to Harvey, Donna, Patrick, and Troian now. They are the people, my people, my family after Barden. I've known them even longer than the time I spent with the Bellas. With my friends... the bond is different. They understand me in a way that none of you can. Except for Emily. Maybe because she's friends with my friends too. And... well, you hang out with the people who get you, Chlo. Right?"

Although she still doesn't completely understand, Chloe doesn't want to push. As much as she disagrees, she knows that some of Beca's reasons make sense. Therefore, she kisses her wife's hand and softly says, "Then start again. Bond with them again. With us; the Bellas. Like it or not, we're family. And family stick together. They love you, Baby. Even after you left more than ten years ago, all of them welcomed you back without any hesitation or rejection. Whatever it is that made you uncomfortable with them, promise me you'll talk to them about it. I'm sure they'll understand."

It's proven the otherwise so far no matter what she's said and done. Nevertheless, Beca smiles and says, "I will talk to them. Promise."

Chloe smiles in relief and kisses her wife's cheek. Then she softly says, "I love you, and I love our sisters. I just want all of us to get along. Now more than ever that we're married and I'm pregnant."

With an understanding smile, the DJ nods. "Okay. And I love you too, wife." Then she remembers something. "Oh, hey. Are you still going to work tomorrow?"

"Of course." The redhead replies. "I have to give my unpaid leave notification for our honeymoon, remember?"

"Chlo..." Beca says softly, yet the worry in her voice is showing. "What if you uh... stop working? You know that you don't have to work anymore. I earn more than enough for both of us. That way, you'll not be too tired, and we can keep peanut safe."

Chloe chuckles, "Baby, working won't harm our peanut. Besides, I love teaching, and I love my students. I want to keep working, even though my wife practically holds the world in her hands."

Beca scoffs, "I don't hold the world in my hands. I just... well, you heard what Doctor Montgomery said, wife. You need to relax. You can stay at home and just-"

"Be your trophy wife?" The redhead teases. All of her worries vanish just from having her wife so concerned about the pregnancy.

While rolling her eyes in mocked annoyance, the DJ says, "I didn't say that. I just think that if you work less, you can pay more attention to your pregnancy. You'll be less distressed, and more relaxed. It'll be good for both you and peanut. So, maybe you should stop working. At least until peanut is born."

"It's not necessary true, Becs." Chloe coos. "Working will make me feel better. I'll be bored to death if I don't work. And being active is actually good for pregnancy. With the right proportions."

Truth to be told, Beca knows that working will certainly be good for her wife. She has learnt one thing or two about pregnancy, because she stayed at Harvey's when Donna was pregnant with Stefan. She's being unreasonable because she's worried about the pregnancy. Nevertheless, she knows that being unreasonable is still being unreasonable. Therefore, she sighs in defeat and puts on a light smile. "Fine. But promise me that you'll be extra careful."

With her chest so warm from a thousand of butterflies, Chloe chuckles and says, "Promise, my overprotective wife."

"I'm not overprotective." The DJ says with a defensive tone and her cheeks a bit flushed. "I'm just... you know, extra cautious. My wife is pregnant, and I want her and my baby to be safe."

"I know." The redhead grins from ear to ear, and then she kisses Beca's cheek again. "You're too adorable."

"No way." Beca says smugly. "I'm a badass."

"Sure." Chloe pinches her wife's cheek playfully. "Whatever you say, my adorably badass overprotective wife."

"Chloe!" The brunette exclaims in mocked annoyance, and it only makes her wife laugh even louder.

When they stop at the pharmacy, Beca goes to the florist nearby to get her wife a bouquet of flowers.

Chloe is still waiting in the line when her wife comes back with her favorite sunflowers.

"Here." The DJ hands her wife the said item.

With a smile so bright, the redhead asks, "What's this for?"

Beca stares at her wife fondly and says, "We just found out that you're pregnant officially. And it calls for an official celebration. Besides, I'm trying to be the most romantic partner you said I'd always be."

"Aw..." Chloe kisses her wife's lips chastely. "You are so, so charming, Baby Boo. But you don't have to do this just to show me that you're romantic. You've covered that bases beyond a boquet of flowers."

Beca shrugs, "Well, just wanted to show in the way I could that I love you."

"I know you love me, Becs." Chloe looks at her wife fondly. "That's why we're married. I will never doubt that. And I love you too."

Without saying anything, the DJ simply smiles lightly and laces their fingers.

* * *

**At Stacie's Place**

Other than the newlyweds, the rest of the Bellas are at Stacie's place. They'll be having dinner together while planning the album they're going to make. Essentially, Beca and Chloe are also supposed to be there. However, they want to give their _just married_ sisters some space to enjoy their fresh new marriage.

What they don't know is, Beca and Chloe are on their way there. In fact, the couple are already at the front door, and Chloe is opening it with her key. The Bellas don't hear the couple walking in because they're too busy talking.

"Hey, Hunter." Fat Amy says. "Beca's best man, what's his name again?"

"Harvey?"

By the mention of Harvey's name, Beca holds her wife back in the hallway near the living room, an she signals her wife to remain quiet. Chloe is confused, but she complies.

"He's cute." Fat Amy wiggles her eyebrows playfully.

Stacie rolls her eyes and says, "You're married. And so is he."

"If I'm not married, I'll be eating him like cheesecakes." Fat Amy says with seductive voice and her eyes narrowed.

"Ew..." Emily scrunches her face.

"He's our enemy, Fat Amy." Aubrey warns in annoyance.

"What?" Fat Amy seems confused. "What enemy? We have one?"

"He's on the dark side." Aubrey says coldly. "Along with Beca's other friends."

"I don't get it." Flo says. "What is wrong with them? I don't like Beca's friends. Especially the man who interrupted Aubrey last night. He wasn't nice. Who he thought he was?"

"Aubrey wasn't nice either in her toast." Emily reminds them.

"I was joking, okay?" Aubrey retorts defensively.

"Really?" The youngest Bella shots back with an accusing look. "So, it didn't have anything to do with your termination?"

"They fired you?" Flo is shocked, and she's not the only one.

Aubrey puts on the most casual look she can muster and says, "I was going to quit anyway. I don't like working for the people who despise us. You should've heard what they said about all of us. They were-"

"I think we better spare our sisters the details." Stacie cuts her wife off.

"What did they say about us?" Jessica asks with her eyes narrowed, and Ashley supports, "We want to know."

When Aubrey wants to explain, Stacie hurriedly says, "The point is, they don't like us for the way we treated Beca. You know, planning her wedding without asking her opinion and... everything else."

"But why did they fire you?" CR asks in confusion.

"She represented Chloe as a client." Emily explains. "It's against the company policies about representing someone against LC's clients."

Aubrey scoffs, "That's what they said. The truth is, that was their ploy to break Chloe. It was their way to separate us, Chloe, from Beca. To protect Beca of course. By firing me. It's a good thing Chloe and I didn't fall to their trap."

"What?"

Other than Emily and Stacie who have heard the whole story, the rest of the Bellas are upset.

"Really?" Fat Amy asks with dumbfounded look. "They did that?"

"I just work at LC, but Harvey seems to be a fair guy to me." CR has a bit of doubt. "I mean, would he and Donna have hired me if he didn't want us to be around Beca?"

"And I worked at LC too." Stacie tries to put out the fire. "Got no problems so far with the HQ."

"But I am the closest one to Chloe." Aubrey points out. "They knew that hurting me would certainly hurt Chloe. They must had hoped that Chloe would have backed out from the wedding. Even though Chloe didn't do as they'd hoped, but they wanted us to see what they're capable of if we try to straighten their beloved pupil."

"For God's sake." Flo huffs in annoyance. "They should be thankful; we didn't do anything at all for the fact that they hid Beca for a long time. And we welcomed Beca back into our group after everything she did to us. Especially to Chloe."

"Seems like Beca is acting like a child telling her parents that she's being bullied." Lily whispers.

"They don't even know us, and they didn't even introduce themselves to us." Jessica says in annoyance, and her wife adds, "Besides, we're Beca's and Chloe's family. We're their sisters. We just wanted what's best for them."

"Well, you didn't introduce yourselves either." Emily states matter-of-factly. "And they did what they did for the very same reasons. Aside from the obvious rules breaking part for Aubrey's termination."

"How could we when they didn't even come to our tables?" Flo retorts, and she sounds more upset. "They could've tried to get to know us."

"Did you?" Emily asks with convincing look. "Try? And for the record, for them, they are Beca's family. They've been in Beca's life longer than any of us."

"But we're in a sisterhood." Lily whispers. "We're bound to be a family for this life and the afterlife. They should've known that by now."

"Have you?" Emily asks with the same confirming tone. "Known and accepted that Pop actually has friends and family other than the Bellas?"

"I don't like them." Flo concludes in annoyance. "They seemed like assholes. Acting so exclusive and all. I don't understand why Beca could be friends with them."

Emily shrugs and nonchalantly says, "Well, they don't like you either. And from the way you were expecting them to come to your table, you acted just as exclusively. So, I guess it's even."

"Why are you defending them?" Jessica raises her voice at the youngest Bella.

"We're your sisters." Ashley adds. "You should be on our side."

"It's no use at all talking some sense into Emily." Aubrey says coldly with her arms crossed on her chest. "Last night, she even sat with them; not us."

Emily scoffs, "At least all I did was picking a seat, and not picking a side."

The rest of her sisters become silent from the statement. It got them thinking. It's right that their seats indirectly shows on whose side they're on, and last night, none of them took a seat on Beca's side.

All along, CR and Stacie remain silent. They don't actually know what to say about the matter. Since both of them work for Lucifer Corps, they did spend a little time talking with the couple who manage the company, and surprisingly, the conversation went well. However, a part of them felt disappointed because Beca didn't introduce her new friends to the other Bellas. For them, it was supposed to be her responsibility. However, they also knew Beca's feeling to the Bellas since they reunited. Therefore, they couldn't really blame the DJ either for resenting them.

Meanwhile, Beca and Chloe are listening in the hallway. The redhead gives her wife an apologetic smile, while the DJ herself simply stares at her wife with a smile that says _told you_.

"Come on." Chloe whispers softly. "You can talk to them right now to clear the air. Our sisters are upset, and it's reasonable."

Beca simply puts on an obvious fake grin and nods. Then the two of them walk into the living room.

Their sisters seem to be stunned. They're surprised that the couple are here. Obviously, the couple have been listening all along judging from the not so subtle fake grin on Beca's face, and a soft warning glare coming from Chloe.

"Aca-awkward..." Fat Amy mutters with her eyes wide.

"Hey..." CR breaks the silence awkwardly. "The lovebird is here."

Trying to melt the tension more, Stacie teases, "How was last night, Chloe?"

"Amazing." Chloe suddenly beams so brightly, and her sisters laugh lightly.

"I'll go prepare some dinner." Aubrey says. She's not afraid of Beca, but she doesn't like to be around the DJ right now.

"I'll help you." Chloe says, and then she looks at her wife to mouth, _"Talk to them."_

Beca rolls her eyes in half-annoyance but nods. Then she sits down next to Emily.

Seeming a bit apologetic, Flo says, "We're sorry, Beca. We didn't mean-"

"Yea, you did." The DJ cuts her off nonchalantly.

Other than Emily, the rest of the Bellas are stealing glances at each other.

"Or you didn't." Beca shrugs. "Doesn't matter. What you think about my friends don't matter to me. And I'm completely sure that it doesn't matter to them either. But I really need to tell all of you something. Just not here. So, come earlier to the studio tomorrow. We'll talk about it over lunch."

"Why not here and now, Shawshank?" Fat Amy asks in confusion.

"All of us are here now." CR adds.

With a tight-lipped smile, Beca points her chin toward the kitchen direction. "I think we all know why."

"Oh."

Certainly, her sisters get that it must has something to do with Aubrey pushing the DJ to stay with Chloe. That must be the reason Aubrey and Chloe aren't invited to the meeting.

Beca continues, "Chloe can only record after four because she's still teaching, and Aubrey only wants to record with Chloe. Besides, all of you are gonna be at the studio anyway to record the album, and with our reunion next week, I just want to get it over with before we got too busy."

"Okay."

"Sure."

"We'll be there."

"Thank you." The DJ smiles half-heartily.

Trying to bring out a warm vibe, CR changes the topic to the thing they love the most. "About the album. I've listed a couple of songs we sung back in college. How about all of the songs we sang for ICCA's finals, plus I Saw The Sign, Party in The USA, Flashlight, and I'll Be There For You? We still remember them closely. So, I think it ain't take too much time to record."

Thankfully, it can ease the tension.

"Sounds like a plan." Beca responds.

"Agreed."

"We're really doing this!" Flo says excitedly.

"The Bellas are back, bitches!" Fat Amy exclaims loudly.

Then they simply talk about the album plan until Chloe and Aubrey come back into the living room with dinner. Since the dining room isn't enough for all of them, they eat in the living room together.

On one couch, Beca is sitting next to Emily, and Emily is sitting beside Stacie. Sitting on the personal sofa is Fat Amy. Flo, Jessica, and Ashley are sitting on one couch. CR, Aubrey, and Chloe are sitting on the other one.

After they're done having dinner, they enjoy a couple bottles of wine, except for Beca and Chloe who only drink a cup tea. Eventually, Chloe clears her throat and says, "We have something to tell you." She glances at her wife with a fond look before looking back at her sisters. "We're pregnant."

The Bellas squeal all together and jump to hug the redhead tightly. Other than Beca and Emily, the rest of the Bellas are having a group hug. As always, Beca is uncomfortable with touching too many people all at once. On the other hand, Emily is giving her sisters a chance to really celebrate, because she herself has already found out yesterday.

As they break the hug, the Bellas are saying so many things all together to the redhead.

"How long?!" Aubrey asks excitedly.

"When did this happen?!" Jessica and Ashley asks in unison.

"Almost four weeks." Chloe grins.

"Congratulations!" Stacie exclaims.

"Ginger's pregnant!" Fat Amy roars loudly.

CR looks at Beca and teases, "You move fast, Captain."

Beca simply smirks smugly and wiggles her eyebrows playfully in return.

After the Bellas are already breaking apart, Emily approaches Chloe and hugs her. "Congratulations, _Mom_."

"Thanks, Legacy." The redhead replies warmly.

"Why don't you seem surprised?" Stacie asks the youngest Bella.

Emily breaks the hug and replies, "I already found out yesterday before the wedding."

"She found out before me?" Aubrey seems a bit offended.

While Chloe is smiling apologetically to her blonde best friend, Emily cheerfully says, "Of course I did. Pop told me yesterday. The perks of being the first aca-child."

"Well, now all of you know." Chloe says apologetically to her blonde best friend.

"Congratulations, Shorty!" Fat Amy pulls the DJ up in a bear tight hug, and CR and Stacie join them.

"Okay, okay." Beca tries to wiggle her way out in mocked annoyance. "Thank you. Now get off me. I'm not the one carrying the baby."

All of them are used to the fact that Beca is not comfortable with being touched by so many people. They have understood that now. Back then in college, they even did it in purpose just to see the brunette's cheeks turn red. However, since some of them are still having a hard feeling to their former captain, they simply chuckle dryly. Fat Amy, CR, Emily, Stacie, and Chloe bark out a loud laughter though.

"I'm going to be a godmother!" Aubrey exclaims excitedly with her eyes teary.

"Not so fast, aca-nazi." Fat Amy says in all seriousness. "This is the precious second aca-child. You will have to fight for the honorable position. We should have the Hunger Games. The last person standing can be the baby's godmother."

With a mocked offended look, Stacie retorts, "What about Isabelle? Isn't she also an aca-child?"

"And our twins." Jessica and Ashley add in unison.

"And my kids with Denise." CR says.

"Mine with Randy." Flo points out.

"Even your boys with Bumper, Fat Amy." Emily chips in.

"And who'd be left as the aca-aunts after the hunger games?" Lily whispers. "Not that I mind. It's a great idea, and I will absolutely win."

Everybody looks at Lily with furrowed eyebrows.

Then Beca says in mocked annoyance, "For God's sake. Everybody's kids are the aca-children. Even Emily's and Lily's when they have one."

"I don't plan to have any." Lily whispers. "The earth is already overpopulated, and soon enough the alien from Mars are taking over our planet."

The rest of the Bellas look at the Asian with their eyebrows furrowed again. They're in between not catching what she said, or not getting what she said.

Aubrey shakes her head and says, "Doesn't matter." She looks at Chloe with hope beaming all over her face. "I am so going to be this baby's godmother. Chloe and I have a pact."

With her bottom lip in between her lips, Chloe gives Aubrey an apologetic grimace, and then she looks at her wife. Feeling nervous and guilty as hell, the redhead says to her blonde best friend, "I'm sorry, Bree. But uh... I... well, Beca and I are still talking about it."

"What do you mean?" Aubrey asks in confusion.

"We haven't decided yet." Beca says nonchalantly to her former captain. "But you can dream on, Posen. Everybody gets to dream whatever they want."

"Are you saying that I won't be your kid's godmother?" Aubrey sounds upset now, but only raises her voice toward the petite brunette certainly.

Doesn't want to add more unnecessary tension for the next nine months, the DJ diplomatically says, "I'm simply saying that we haven't decided yet. Besides, I do have other close friends who are also worthy to consider as my kid's godmother. There are so many names in the pool. So, it'll take time for Chloe and I to decide. And we still have more than eight months to do it."

Even so, Stacie already knows that there's no way Beca will choose her wife regarding the two former captains' relationship. When her wife wants to argue, Stacie says, "Let it go, Babe. They have the absolute say in this. It's their kid."

With an upset look, Aubrey simply huffs but says nothing. For Stacie, Emily, and CR, it's understandable if Beca doesn't want Aubrey become her kid's godmother. Not with the other Bellas apparently. Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily think it's not only odd, but it's also demeaning considering that Chloe and Aubrey literally grew up together. Nevertheless, they know they'll have time to express their opinions tomorrow when Chloe isn't around.

The tension is high. Stacie and CR try their best to direct the conversation back to their project again. After talking more about the album, Beca, Chloe, and the rest of the Bellas excuse themselves from Stacie's place.

* * *

**The Next Day: Lunch**

All of the Bellas minus Aubrey and Chloe are already in a conference room at Beca's studio. The tables and chairs are set so they could sit in a circle.

As usual, Beca sits next to Emily, and Stacie is sitting on her other side. Next to Stacie will be CR, followed with Flo, Jessica, and Ashley. Circling back to the Emily side, there will be Fat Amy and Lily. Automatically, Lily is sitting next to Ashley in that circle.

During lunch, nobody talks so much. Everybody is quite busy with their own minds, thinking about the inevitable arguments that is about to come.

Comes 2 PM, and they finally finished lunch. The janitor comes in to clean up after them, and then Donna's assistant sends in cups of coffee and tea. After they're left alone, someone finally cracks the fragile shell of the inevitable talk.

"Alright, Captain." CR says. "You said you wanted to talk. Let's talk."

Just as the DJ is about to say something, Flo interrupts her. "Before we start whatever it is you want to talk about, can you explain why you had to crush Aubrey last night?"

"Crush?" Beca raises an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yea." Flo says. "You needed time to think about whose gonna be your kid's godmother? Telling her that she could dream on? That's mean. Why would you do that?"

"Because Chloe and I are still thinking about it?" The petite brunette retorts.

"But Chloe and Aubrey have a pact. And they're best friends. After every sacrifice she did for Chloe, we think Aubrey has earned that position." Jessica adds, and her wife jumps in, "You want to consider it only in the Bella's circle? Fine. But to put in your friends in the equation too? The outsiders? Unacceptable."

With a stern look, the DJ says, "No offense. But that decision making is between me and my wife. You have no say in this matter, and it's none of your business. I didn't tell you what to do with your kids, so, don't tell me what to do with mine. In fact, don't ever interfere with my marriage life with Chloe. We're both adults who are capable of making our own decisions. Clear?"

It strikes right in the chest for Flo, Jessica, and Ashley. Sharp, yet also true. Obviously, they start this meeting on the wrong foot. The tension is getting thicker and thicker only in the matter of seconds.

When Flo wants to argue, Emily cuts her off. "Okay. Beca is right, and Stacie has already told us. She and Chloe has the absolute say about whom gets to be their kid's godmother. Period. We don't need to have another pointless argument about it. Can we get to the talk Pop wanted to have?"

Even though some of them have become upset, all of them comply with the youngest bella's request.

Having a feeling that the talk is most likely also about her wife, Stacie nervously suggests, "I think you should call Aubrey now, Shorty. If this is about how you feel, and uh... well, I mean, you know, she's the one that you..." She doesn't know the proper words to finish her sentence.

"Seem to hate the most?" Beca finishes the sentence without any consolation. "No. I don't hate your wife, Stace. I didn't like her. That, is true. But since she insulted me in her toast, at my wedding, in front of my wife, my friends, and my wife's family, I'm done. I've decided to make your wife insignificant in my life. I don't matter to her, and it's clear that she hates me ever since I walked out on you at the hospital. Nothing I say and do, or will say and will do, can make her think treat me less shitty. And frankly, I just don't care anymore. So, I don't think I need her here."

It's certainly harsh, to just wipe someone off without considering the kind things that person has ever done. As stubborn as she is, Aubrey has always done what's best for the Bellas since college until now. Therefore, other than Emily, the other Bellas don't really understand how Beca could do that to their former captain.

"Hate is such a strong word, Beca." Stacie says as calmly as possible. Even though she knew how fierce her wife could be, she's still upset for the way Beca is talking about Aubrey. "You know she doesn't hate you. She just... has a deep concern about Chloe."

Beca scoffs, "Again. No offense, Stace. Defend your wife all your way to China, but for me, she has always been, and most likely will always be a pain in the ass with too much ego to save. It's been always easier for her to blame me over everything. Even since college, her uptight way drove us down, and she put it on me. Yes, I made a mistake with the impromptu improvisation, but she also had her share of mistakes by being stubborn and refused to listen. Being wrong is fine, as long as you're also open to own it. _I_ , have owned up to my mistakes. She hasn't. There was a time she could do that, but not anymore apparently."

Knowing that the DJ is talking about the day Aubrey gave her the Bella's pipe, Stacie says, "And it's a proof that people can change."

"Yea, most of people could." The petite brunette says nonchalantly. "But some of us just got better at hiding who we really are instead of learning how to change or adapt, or even to understand."

CR takes a deep breath and calmly says, "We know she's been hard on you. But she meant well. And let's not forget that she has done so many things for the Bellas, especially for Chloe, Capt."

The DJ shrugs, "I did say the same thing to Ashley last year after the reunion. I told her that Aubrey could be intense, but she's a good person. Apparently, with terms and conditions applied; as long as my existence doesn't get in the way of what she thinks is best for Chloe and the Bellas. So, no. I honestly am out of good will for her. The way she's been pushing me, none of them is subtle and kind. Asking me to cut ties with my friends?" She scoffs again. "She might sugarcoat it that she did it for Chloe, but I knew better. In the end, this isn't about Chloe anymore. Because I've married Chloe, yet she's is still acting like an asshole."

"What do you mean?" Stacie asks.

Beca sighs with bored look and retorts, "Seriously? You didn't see it coming? Your wife is way too deep into covering herself, Stace. Overcompensating and projection are real things. She's pushing it, projecting her guilty feelings on me, because she can't get over the fact that she has her own share of mistakes for enabling Chloe. For her, I have to be the one who's responsible for whatever happened and will happen to Chloe."

"Because she loves Chloe, Capt." CR reasons without raising her voice. "If it wasn't for her, who knew what would've happened to Chloe after you left ten years ago. You know that deep down, she's a kind person. To us, she's still the same kind person who will stood up for us no matter what. And you can't deny it. You're the only one who could make Chloe happier. I know it wasn't fair for you, and I disagreed with her way, but if there was another way to keep Chloe safe, I believe she wouldn't push you to step up."

"Well, I've done what she wanted." The DJ says with half-annoyed look. "But now, it's like she's waiting for me to make a mistake, so she can tell all of you _I've told you what an asshole Beca is._ Even when I did something that went as she wanted, she would claim that it was because of her. You heard her on the wedding night. She said, and I quote, _I've told you, guys. Beca would stay with Chloe. I told you I'd make that happen._ " She scoffs. "Can't be more shitty than that I hope. There's only one way to deal with this kind of shitty person; you ignore them completely. Because nothing you do would be okay or enough for them."

"But your people fired her just because she tried to protect Chloe." Flo states matter-of-factly.

"That is so not true." The DJ says. "They fired her because she was doing a shitty job, including _insisting_ to represent a client against the company's."

"That client is your wife, Beca." Jessica points out with disbelieved tone.

"They couldn't have made an exception?" Ashley adds.

"Why don't you ask them?" Beca retorts. "The matter isn't in my hands. I didn't even know that they'd fire her."

"You should've at least tried to defend her in front of your friends." Flo says firmly. "That way, you could've got to her good side, to break her wall of distrust."

"To get her approval you mean." Beca negates with stern look. "Nope. Not gonna happen. I did try to tolerate her. I did. But I can only deal with so much crap coming from one shitty ignorant person. At first, I was like _oh, okay. She cares about Chloe way too much._ But it's kind of getting on my fucking nerve now, especially when she knew how hard it was for me too, and I've married Chloe. It's what she wanted, right? Me getting married with Chloe? So, tell me any reasons why she's still treating me like shit other than to save her fucking ego."

Seems tired and defeated, Stacie says, "With everything that's happened, she's over the edge now. Yes, you've married Chloe, but it's not easy to rebuild a broken trust, Shorty. And the way Harvey treated Chloe, and then she got fired, she's just... she's distressed. Cut her some slack."

"Well, I'm cutting her a lot of slack by ignoring her." Beca says nonchalantly. "Besides, she's stressed out of her mind because she's spending too much time minding other people's life."

"You said you'll be smarter in dealing with her." Stacie debates stubbornly.

"Oh this is me being smart." The DJ points out with both eyebrows raised and a tight lipped smile before she sips her tea.

"How?" Fat Amy is completely at lost.

Beca rolls her eyes and retorts, "Do any of you know about the wrong accusation to the crazy Emperor Caligula? About him declaring war to Neptune by asking his troops to stab the water by the ocean?"

"No?" All of her sisters say in unison. This is kind of a geeky stuff, and they don't understand how Beca could know.

Feeling a bit frustrated, the DJ scratches the back of her head and explains, "So, let's just say that Aubrey is Neptune; the God. She always has to be right, only her opinion matters, she has to control everything, and she gets to justify any of her actions, no matter how shitty it is, as long as she brought up Chloe's name and said that it was what's best for the Bella, _in her opinion,_ all of you would go along. All she asked from you, you did. All she needed from you, you gave. Including kicking me on the teeth. But I'm not Caligula; the crazy emperor who ordered his troops to stab the ocean. If the accusation were true, it would be pointless trying to wound Neptune by stabbing the water. I don't want to be him. I'm not stupid, and I'm certainly not crazy. So, I'll just ignore her. By making her insignificant in my life, what she says about me, good or bad, it can't affect me. Because I don't value them anymore. Simple."

The rest of the Bellas are stunned. All along, other than Emily, Stacie has always been the one who would defend the DJ tirelessly. Seeing how Beca talk about Stacie's wife that way is making them upset.

Beca sees through them and points out, "Let's not pretend that she values me in this group. The feeling is mutual."

Seeing that there's no way to push Beca to change her mind, Stacie sighs heavily. There's one thing that she keeps to herself, that she knows if she reveals, it will make the DJ become more understanding. However, she can't say it. It's not her place to reveal her wife's past. Therefore, she leans back onto the chair and remains silent, positioning one arm under her breast supporting the other hand by the elbow, knuckles pressed onto her lips.

"So, if we disagree with you, you'd make us insignificant in your life too?" Jessica raises her voice.

"Is that how you treat a sister?" Ashley retorts.

"I think she's doing it to all of us already." Flo says coldly. "She rarely spent time with us at all. Even on her wedding night, she preferred to hang out with her _new_ friends."

Looking calm and casual, the DJ confirms, "Yes. I prefer to hang out with my new friends now. Because honestly, I've been feeling uncomfortable hanging out with all of you since Chloe got into the hospital. Well, except for Emily."

"Why?" Flo crosses her arms on her chest. "Is it because we chose Chloe's side and not yours?"

"You expected us to choose your side?" Jessica asks in disbelief, and her wife adds, "After everything you put us through more than ten years ago? And then to Chloe right after you two met again?"

"Unbelievable." Lily whispers.

With her eyes wide, the DJ scoffs in disbelief. "All of you blamed me, and then even after you found out that I left Ashley for Chloe, it wasn't enough for you. You still pushed me to marry Chloe in a matter of months. None of you tried to understand my position. All you cared, and still do, is Chloe. Even at my wedding, you just had to warn me not to let you down. My wedding. So, yeah. I found it very hard to hang out with you ever since."

"We took you back, Beca." Flo says firmly, still with her arms crossed on her chest. "You left us with no explanations, hid from us when we were looking for you like crazy, but we still took you back and forgave you."

Beca shakes her head and says, "You didn't want me back. And you still don't. You wanted someone who Chloe loved; who could love Chloe like back in college. And it's not me. Not the same person at the very least. That's why even on my wedding day, with Chloe, and until now, I felt like hell was still raining on me. Coming from you. The people who wanted me to marry Chloe, because you thought it was the best decision for me and her. And about me expecting you to take my side. Remember the fight I had with Chloe during the retreat? I kept a secret from all of you for months, and when it got out, Chloe was beyond angry with me. Remember that one?"

"Yes."

"Of course."

"Sure."

"What about it?"

With a tight-lipped smile, the DJ explains, "I remember that none of you took side. Any sides. You were neutral. You didn't jump in, or meddle, and you let she and I deal with it in our own way. Even Aubrey let us deal with it on our own. So, no. I didn't, and I still don't expect you to take my side. I had hoped that you would've been neutral; that you could've tried to stay away and see from aside. Like you did in college. You even helped me get out of the bear trap."

"Again." Flo says firmly. "After everything you put us through? And for the record, it was before Chloe tried to kill herself, _twice_ because of you."

Looking a bit bored and annoyed, Beca exhales. "I'm never gonna live that one out, aren't I?" When her sisters are about to argue, she holds up her index finger and firmly says, "About Chloe tried to kill herself, you need to wake up. It was her responsibility. Not mine. And if I wanted, I could've blamed all of you for not paying more attention to her. I could've blamed all of you for enabling her. But I didn't. Because I know that certain things are not in our hands to control."

With sarcastic look, Flo scoffs and says, "Now she's blaming us, muchas chicas. She doesn't even feel bad for every shit she put us through since she left."

Beca groans in frustration and firmly says, "Look. You wanted me to apologize to all of you, I also have. Not once, but several times. So, really. I'm out of my depth to show you how sorry I am. And it's not like some of you don't know how hard I struggled. Now, I've done what I should've done from a long time ago. I chose Chloe, and I'm staying. I've married her. Just like all of you wanted me to. "

Looking stubborn, Flo retorts defensively, "What are you saying? Are you saying that you only got married with Chloe just because we pushed you to?"

"I did feel that way." Beca says without any hesitation. "Until I gave it a thought, and made my own decision."

"The very same decision you claimed we pushed you to make." Jessica states coldly.

"That we only did because we knew that it's the best for you and Chloe." Ashley adds.

"You mean for Chloe." The DJ points out. "You didn't do it for me."

As true as it is, Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily sure still look annoyed. CR, Stacie, and Fat Amy on the other hand, seem more confused and defeated than upset.

Trying to be calm, the DJ takes a deep breath and says, "The decision to marry Chloe, as hard as you pushed me, I wasn't going to relent. Not until I finally made the decision on my own. So, all of you can stop claiming victory, thinking that I did it because Aubrey pushed me to. For what it's worth, it's not because she and all of you pushed me."

"What's the difference? You married her anyway." Jessica seems upset yet she's also a bit confused now. Then her wife adds, "And yes, we believe if we didn't push you, you wouldn't see how right it is for you to marry Chloe. You wouldn't come to a decision that marrying Chloe is the best decision you've ever made."

Feeling more frustrated, Beca huffs tiredly and flexes her neck. Then she asks, "Any of you read the book about a young boy in a magical world? Henry Hofster or something? He's in this kind of school for wizards named Hoqzard?"

Emily almost can't help herself from bursting into a laughter, but she's able to hold it back by snorting. Then she clears her throat and corrects her former captain, "Harry Potter, Pop. And the school is Hogwarts."

"Yea, whatever." The DJ rolls her eyes.

"What about him?" CR asks in confusion.

"There's this one part about being brave." The DJ explains with her eyebrows furrowed and her head slightly tilted while tapping her fingers on the table; trying to remember the exact thing she's about to tell. "I think it's in book seven. It's when the boy sacrificed himself to Lord Bolvemort-"

"Lord Voldemort." The youngest Bella corrects her again.

"Yea, yea." Beca rolls her eyes. "So, the boy died, he went to some kind of a train station in afterlife, and he met an old man named... _tsk_... Oh, Dundlebore there."

Emily just can't help it anymore, and she drops her head while covering her giggling mouth with both hands. The rest of the Bellas are torn. They find it funny, but they are also upset and annoyed from the previous talk.

Upon seeing her aca-child is giggling and the rest of her sisters seem to be half annoyed, Beca asks, "What?"

Emily sucks her lips to suppress her laughter, and then she says, "It's Dumbledore. And he is Hogwarts' headmaster."

"Okay." The DJ responds with a warning glare to the youngest Bella. "The boy died, and he met Dun-" She rolls her eyes again. "He met the headmaster. They had a talk about the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death, and walking into the arena with your head held high."

"What are you trying to say?" Flo asks.

"The more important question is, how did you know about Harry Potter?" Emily asks comically. "I never pegged you as a wizard lover, Pop."

Beca rolls her eyes for the umpteenth times and says, "A year into my relationship with Ashley, I was confused of why she hadn't pushed me to open up, and she read me that part. She didn't explain furthermore, but I just knew it. It was her way to tell me that she wanted me to open up in my own conscience, with my head held high. Well, at least until she reached her breaking point a year later when I refused to move in together."

"Oh." Emily nods with an impressed look.

"Not the point." Jessica hurriedly cuts in, and her wife adds, "Why did you bring it up?"

After huffing out one hell of a tired breath, the DJ explains, "I'm just saying, I did what I did, decided to marry Chloe and start a family with her, even move in to the house next to Aubrey's, it was all in the later way. Not the first one. That makes one hell of differences. I love her. That's the reason I marry her. I don't want you to misunderstand, and then misinform my wife about why I married her. She will be broken hearted. Is that clear?"

Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily still seem a bit annoyed, but the tension is easing down after getting the explanation. On the other hand, CR, Stacie, and Fat Amy seem to be more relieved after getting the reassurance. Nevertheless, all of them nod at the same time.

Still with a stern look, Flo asks, "So, is this why you gathered us here? To blame us for protecting Chloe?"

Upon seeing that Beca just shakes her head and sighs heavily, Emily takes a deep breath and says, "Pop is angry and tired of being treated like she owes her life to all of you; like all of you own her life after she left. If you are hurt and disappointed by her, newsflash, she feels the same."

"Let's be honest with ourselves." Fat Amy says tiredly. "Aren't you tired of blaming Shawshank? Everything is already and finally okay. Can we stop all of this none sense and embrace the sunset hands in hands?"

"That's right." Emily backs up the unusually wise hilarious blonde. "Even _I_ , am tired. I couldn't breathe only from seeing the way all of you are treating her. Not to mention how you have let Aubrey do whatever she wanted to do to make Beca stay with Chloe. I could only imagine how suffocated she is. Since she's already making up for her mistakes, can you stop bringing up what she did more than a decade ago, and stop blaming her for Chloe's suicide attempts?

"Do you want us to apologize?" Jessica retorts coldly to the DJ, and Ashley adds in annoyance, "Just because we pointed you to the right direction?"

Emily has become impatient, and she firmly retorts, "You don't get it, do you? This isn't an argument. She's simply telling us how she feels about you. So, if you can stop being defensive for a second, it would be very good. And yes, you still owe her apologies."

"I don't want your apologies." Beca says with one hand under her jaw, holding her head up with her elbow on her desk. "And frankly, I don't need one. I'm gathering you here for one, and only one purpose; to tell you how I feel about you since I came back to the Bellas. I was angry, furious even, and I tried not to blame you, yet somehow I still resent you for what you said and did to me. This is my closure. The matter if you take it the wrong way, it's your problem. Not mine. And with all due respect, please don't make it mine anymore. I'm done being your punching bag for what happened to Chloe."

All of her sisters are taken aback.

With dumbfounded look, Fat Amy asks, "Are you saying you don't want anything to do with us anymore, Shawshank?"

"I didn't say that precisely." Beca raises her left shoulder, looking a bit torn. "And obviously, it will be very hard to do. You are my wife's sisters, and she loves the world out of you. All of you. And I love her. Seeing us resenting each other is hard on her, and it makes her sad. I don't like making my wife sad. But I also won't let you step all over me for something I did more than a decade ago. If we keep going down this road, we'll be indirectly pushing Chloe to choose. And I, don't want to do that. Unless you back me to the wall with no way out, then I will fight back."

"What do you mean?" CR asks with puzzled look.

"Are you going to push Chloe to leave us?" Flo asks in disbelief.

"Are you willing to let go of the fact that I left? To stop blaming me for Chloe's suicide attempts?" The DJ raises her voice a bit. "Or are you gonna keep bringing that up for the rest of our lives as an excuse to push me for more? If you choose the later one, honestly, I don't want anything to do with you. And it's not like you treat me like a sister after I came back. I'm more like a puppet for all of you. Even with me already doing the right thing, you still claimed that it was your effort, your pain, and not mine. And it certainly isn't enough for you. I don't plan to spend the rest of my life getting shit from you. I better walk out. And if, if, I choose to step out of this circle, I think we know which side my wife will choose to follow."

Stacie, CR, and Fat Amy are struck, stunned, dumbfounded. Even Emily is looking at her former captain with her eyes wide in horror.

"Some nerve you got there." Flo glares at the petite brunette. "And you deserve to be blamed. You did leave, and you were the only reason Chloe tried to kill herself. Besides, Aubrey might not have a chance to tell us, but from the way Stacie is keeping it from us, we could guess just right that you must have let your friends drill our sisters to the breaking point. After what they did to Chloe and Aubrey, you expected us not to be protective?"

With an unreadable look, Beca stares at Flo for a couple of seconds. She's trying hard to control her temper, and it's getting harder to do. Nevertheless, she takes a deep breath and retorts, "Haven't you blamed me enough? Have you tried to see, even for a second, that Chloe was the one who pulled the trigger in her suicide attempts? Have you tried to walk a mile in my shoes? I lost the love of my life to make up for what I did more than a decade ago for God's sake. And about what happened between Aubrey, Chloe, and my friends. See? I'm not a part of Bella anymore for you. So it's okay when you, Chloe's sisters, treat me like shit. But it's not okay if my friends, which I love like a family, and love me as well, did the same to Chloe because they saw how hurt I was, to which by the way, they did because you've been treating me like shit."

"I... We..." Flo stutters, and then Jessica and Ashley back her up.

"You keep disappointing us over and over again." Jessica points out, and her wife adds fiercely, "That's why we told you not to let us down again on your wedding night. But it seems too impossible to do for you. Now you're threatening us, using Chloe as your shield? That's low."

Every reasons the DJ's given seem to be thrown back at her. She's out of patient now, and she can feel smoke blowing out of her ears. "Of course it's impossible to do!" She snaps angrily.

"Shorty, deep breath." Stacie warns the petite brunette worriedly. "Your BP and heart."

Beca is breathing heavily, and she tries to take several deep breaths before she continues with calmer tone, but it's still as firm. "There's no way I wouldn't disappoint any of you for the rest of my life. In fact, it's impossible not to be disappointed at all. Besides, it's not me who disappoint you. It's yourself, your hope, your imagination of how I should've been, of how my life should go in the regard of what you wanted for Chloe. I couldn't have said it better than Spencer Hastings, and I said the same thing to Aubrey at the hospital. You know what people said about hope; it breeds eternal misery. So, you have yourself to blame. Not me. Because like my lawyer advised me, _I_ , don't live my life for your convenience or to fulfill any of your demands. And I can't keep living like this. So, of course I will walk away. And Chloe, I'm pretty sure she'll come with me. Even without me pushing her."

"You will actually walk away from us, Pop?" Emily asks with sad look and shaky voice. "Even though you know that it will take Chloe away from us too?"

Upon seeing that her aca-child is almost breaking down in tears, Beca's anger melts into thin air. She sighs in defeat and rubs Emily's arm before she softly says, "No, I will never do that, Kid. Not to any of you, especially to Chloe. I just..." She sighs heavily again and continues speaking to the others with defeated look. "Look. Since Chloe tried to kill herself, you've put all of the responsibilities on me. I tried to understand. I left all of you. So, I tried not to blame you when you couldn't trust me. But you kept on pushing me. Naturally, I resented you. It was something I couldn't help."

"You started it more than a decade ago." Flo says matter-of-factly. "Losing you have caused so much pain for Chloe. Hoping for us to let it go completely is a wistful thinking. Like you said, you hoped, and now you only have yourself to blame."

It all comes down to that one old stupid mistake apparently. Beca closes her eyes and rubs her face tiredly with both hands. Then she takes a deep breath before she retorts tiredly, "That will keep coming up, won't it?"

"A broken glass can't be put back together without any cracks left." Jessica points out, though her voice is soften now upon seeing that Beca is almost broken down. Then her wife adds, "For as long as we see that there's a chance that you'll leave Chloe, or hurt her, the situation will stay the same. We can't let you do that to her anymore. Especially after finding out how fierce your friends could be."

Beca huffs out a long tired breath. This is not only getting harder, but also pointless. Therefore, she takes a deep breath and calmly says, "You do whatever you want to blame me. I'm out of way to show you that I'm not planning on leaving Chloe. I mean, if me leaving my fiance to be with her isn't enough prove, then nothing will ever be. I just don't think you're being fair by putting it all on me, especially after I tried making up for my mistakes. But for you, I'm the bad guy, right? So, I guess you thought you're being fair for doing that. Because it's for Chloe. I get it. Fine."

"We don't think that you're the bad guy, Shorty." CR says sympathetically.

"She is." Flo says. "I've told you back in the hospital."

While huffing out a long breath in frustration, Beca drops her head into her hands, and scratches the top of it. Then she looks up with her hands formed into a hollowed triangle, pressed on to her lips. Her eyes is showing nothing but helplessness when she says, "I've married Chloe, and she's pregnant with our baby. I'm happy with my life right now, and I can tell that Chloe is over the moon. If you still want to blame me, be my guests. But this feud, it isn't doing any good to my wife. So, if some of you could at least try not to ruin the happiness we're having by despising and controlling me, for her, not for me, it'll be very nice. You want me to do my best for my marriage, I will. I'm doing it. But you need to know this. The responsibility to keep this marriage isn't only on me. It's also on Chloe. It's on both of us. And between the two of us, she's not the only one who might get hurt in this relationship. Me too."

Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily seem to be in a deep thought. They're letting what Beca said sink into their mind. Somehow, they can finally catch a glimpse of why their former captain is upset with them. They only warned her to not disappoint them and Chloe, but they didn't warn Chloe to not disappoint them and her, while in reality, they still claim that she is their sister.

Stacie senses the change of vibe, and she concludes softly, "Okay. Every one of us has our own share of mistakes in this matter. Either we can or want to admit it or not, we have caused pain to each other. Beca did leave, and we did put it all on Beca to take the responsibility about Chloe's condition. Now everything is already right as it's supposed to be. So, can we put everything else behind? Can we just shake our hands and move on with our lives?"

"I'm with hunter." Fat Amy says.

"Me too." CR agrees.

Still recovering from the shocked, Emily weakly says, "Stacie is right. None of us is free of mistakes. Even I made mistakes in this problem too; a mistake that drove us to this point."

Before anyone can say anything else, Beca's phone rings. It pulls them out of the blue vibe.

"I have to take this." The DJ says, and her sisters simply nod in unison. "Hey, Chlo."

" _Baby! Thank you for the flowers!"_

The DJ has sent a huge vase of sunflowers for her wife at school. Even though she's still sad, she tries to smile and says, "I take it that you like the flowers, wife."

" _I love them. My colleagues envy me so much for having such a romantic girlfriend. I have to hide my wedding ring so they wouldn't find out about us. But you should've seen the look on my students' faces when the flowers arrived. What's this for anyway?"_

"Just wanted to give my wife a surprise at school."

" _Aw... I'm surprised, indeed. I love you, Baby boo."_

"I love you too. It's unusual for you to call me this late, Chlo."

" _There was an impromptu meeting during lunch."_

"Oh. How's the little one? Did she give you any trouble?"

" _She behaves. Your little peanut has been very understanding."_

"Good."

" _Have you taken your meds?"_

"Yea."

" _Me too. I'm on my way to the studio. Aubrey just picked me up. Class ended early today."_

"Okay. Be careful."

" _See you soon, Babe."_

"See you."

Right after Beca ends the phone call, Flo asks, "Is that Chloe?"

"Yep." The DJ raises her eyebrows.

CR chuckles and shakes her head. "You sent her flowers at school? Didn't peg you as a romantic, Capt. Wait, let me revised that. Didn't peg that you'd go as far as sending flowers for your wife to school kind of romantic."

"Yea, Shawshank." Fat Amy chips in. "Thought it would've stopped after you got married with ginger."

Even though she's still feeling sad, Beca puts on the best smile she can muster and says, "Just doing what a wife's supposed to do. Treat her wife right."

Upon hearing that, the oppose team sigh in defeat. Truth to be told, they have seen how the DJ is head over heels with Chloe, and turning upside down only to make Chloe happy. Now more than ever after she decided to marry the redhead and started a family so vastly. This realization finally melts a bit of their cold shoulders.

"Can we continue this talk some other time?" The DJ asks politely, and she seems so tired. "Chloe is on her way, and I don't want her to catch this warm almost hot vibe between us. It'll worry her."

Her sisters simply nod in unison.

"Let's prepare the studio." Emily says.

Then all of them move to the recording studio to get ready. Around half an hour later, Chloe and Aubrey arrive.

As she sees the redhead step into the recording studio, the rumbling sadness in Beca's chest becomes stronger. She paces her way to hug her wife tightly.

Aubrey walks pass them hurriedly.

"Hey." Chloe hugs the brunette back just as tightly. She hasn't noticed the sad look on her wife's face. "Missed me, Mrs. Mitchell?" She teases.

Beca chuckles and clears her throat from the suffocating lump. No matter what she's feeling right now, she has to look normal for her wife. She doesn't want to worry her pregnant wife with her problems. Therefore, she puts on a smile and breaks the hug. "So much."

However, Chloe can see that something is off with the DJ. With a worried look, she asks, "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." The DJ forces a more natural smile, diverting her face and eyes down to her wife's stomach and rubs it gently. "Just missing you and peanut. How is she?"

Chloe chuckles and fondly says, "Still as fine as half an hour ago."

"Great." Beca says while taking over Chloe's bag, and then she gently pulls her by the hand. "Come on. Let's get you to somewhere comfortable."

After Chloe greets her sisters, her wife pulls a chair for her to sit down and says, "I'll get you your milk."

"You keep the pregnancy milk in your office?" Chloe asks in comical surprise. Apparently, she's not the only one who's surprised. All of her sisters are. Even Aubrey is raising an eyebrow.

"Of course." The DJ says with a tone _duh_. "You'll be spending a lot of time here in the studio this week. I've prepared everything you might need. So, hot or iced?"

"You're too sweet." The redhead smiles fondly. "And warm is okay."

"Just give me a second." Beca kisses her wife chastely on the lips before walking out of the studio. With that, she'll also have a chance to compose herself.

"Captain seems to be so ready to be a mom, Chloe." CR smiles.

Chloe sighs contentedly, smiling as she says, "She is. In fact, she's being way too adorably overprotective. She's been texting me every ten minutes before lunch, and she even suggested me to stop working until peanut is born."

"She did?" Aubrey asks in disbelief.

"Peanut?" Stacie asks comically at the same time.

"U huh." Chloe answers them both. "Peanut Munchkin Mitchell. Beca gave that name to our baby."

Emily chuckles and says, "It's way far off from Pop's usual taste. That's too cute of a name coming from her."

"I told her so." The redhead grins while rubbing her stomach absentmindedly. "But she said peanut is dangerous because so many people are allergic to it. It's a badass name in her opinion. And she put down munchkin just because I wanted it to be a cute name. So, your niece will most likely be named Peanut Munchkin Mitchell."

Other than Aubrey, the rest of the Bellas bark out a loud laughter, and then Fat Amy says, "Classic Shawshank."

"Did you say yes?" Aubrey asks with interrogating look. "About stop working. She's not supposed to push you into anything, Chloe. Don't do everything for her just because she asks you to do so. It's not like she owns you after both of you are already married."

"Yea, Chloe." Emily says flatly while staring at the blonde former captain sternly. "Not only because you actually have the right to make any decisions about your life, but also because if Pop really did so, it's a very not decent thing to do. You know, pushing someone to do something they don't want to. Am I right, or am I right, Bree?"

Aubrey blushes furiously, but before she can say anything, Chloe is already starting to explain, "As I said, she suggested, not pushed. But I said I wanted to work, and working would keep me active. I told her it'll good for my pregnancy. She agreed as long as I'm being extra careful."

"So, she didn't push you?" Flo asks cautiously.

"Of course not." Chloe says with a puzzled look. She's a bit confused of why her sisters seem to be not trusting her wife. "Beca has never, and will never push me to do something I don't want to do. You know her. When did she ever push me if it wasn't for my own good? She pushed me to think about graduating, and it was for me. She pushed me to have the therapy, and it was also for me. She has never pushed me into doing things for her. In fact, it's the other way around. I'm the one who kept on pushing her. She's just concerned because I'm pregnant."

"Oh." The rest of the Bellas other than Emily nod absentmindedly.

Upon seeing the doubtful look, Chloe remembers about the conversation her sisters had last night about her wife. She sighs deeply and smiles understandingly. "I know you're still having a hard feeling because she left us. But it doesn't matter anymore, girls. She's with us now. Let's keep it that way. And please don't make more fuss about Harvey and Donna. I wouldn't mind if they could've done it more politely, but they love Beca. The were just trying to protect her, like you're trying to protect me. The difference is, Harvey and Donna don't know me the way you know Beca. So, it's understandable if they don't trust me yet. Isn't it?"

"Hear that?" Emily retorts to her other sisters with a hint of pleading on her face.

As usual, Chloe has always been good to keep the group together. Her sisters, other than Aubrey apparently, seem to be more relieved now after getting a reassurance from the redhead.

"Well, it looks like she's been trying." Flo says with soften voice.

"She does." Chloe says softly. "Do you know that ever since we decided to get married, she's been buying me flowers every day? Even when she was in the hospital, she would ask the florist to do some delivery service. She wrote and sang a song for me one day before our wedding. And this morning, she treated me like a queen. She loves me, and it's not hard to see. So, I should try to show her friends that I can be good for her too. A relationship is a two way street. I'm sure all of you know that."

"But you're sure she's not gonna hurt you, right?" Jessica asks worriedly, and then her wife adds, "We just want to make sure she's not trying to hurt you again, Chloe."

"She's not." The redhead nods and gives her sisters a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me. She's been nothing but understanding ever since we decided to get married. I know it's only been two days, but she's so loving to me and to our unborn child." She chuckles. "Unlikely, right? None of us would've thought that it'd be so easy for her to adjust into a marriage life, let alone into a motherhood, all at the same time. But she's doing more than great so far."

Emily smiles in relief and says, "Peanut is so lucky to have such a great Mama."

With a smile so fond, the redhead says, "That makes the two of us. Peanut and I."

"Three." The youngest Bella corrects, looking more cheerful than ten minutes ago. "I'm the first aca-child, _Mom_. Remember the night Benji took me out on a first date?"

Chloe laughs lightly and says, "Of course I do. And you're right. You're our first baby."

Then Beca walks back into the room, headed toward her wife with a glass of milk in one hand, and a fruit platter in the other one. As she stands next to her wife, she puts the items down on the table and says, "Here's your snack, wife."

"Thanks, Baby." The redhead rubs the petite brunette's arm.

When Fat Amy tries to snatch the grape, Beca slaps her hand away and glares at her. "It's for my wife and my baby, Fat Amy."

"Geez..." Fat Amy rubs her hand, mocking a disbelief look. "Relax, Mama-bear."

Without saying anything in return, Beca bends down and rubs her wife's stomach. "Don't worry in there, Peanut." She says softly. "Mama just slayed the dingos strangler who tried to snatch your snack."

The rest of the Bellas are watching with wide eyes. It's so surprising because they had never seen Beca acting like that before.

Lily presses her palms onto her own temple, mocking a serious look as she says in a robotic voice, "Eck! System error. Cuteness overload."

"Oh-em-aca-gee!" Emily exclaims before barking out a loud laughter, and then most of her sisters follow suit.

"I- I think I could've died from diabetes." CR says through a laughter.

"Me too!" Stacie exclaims while holding the side of her stomach. "Way too sweet."

Fat Amy can't even say anything but sitting down and slamming the table with her hands for laughing too hard. Even Flo, Jessica, and Ashley are laughing whole heartily.

Beca's face turns so red so fast. She straightens up and mutters, "Shut up."

"I will not!" Emily exclaims joyfully. "Urgh! I should have recorded it! I could use it as a perfect weapon to blackmail you in the future, Pop."

"Don't worry, Em." Chloe grins from ear to ear. "You still have another eight month to get it. Believe me. She's been acting like this ever since I told her that I'm pregnant." She reaches up one hand to pinch her wife's chin playfully and coos, "She's so adorable, isn't she?"

"Chloe!" Beca scolds the redhead half-heartily while batting her hand away gently.

Another bark of laughter erupts again. Other than Aubrey, the rest of the Bellas seem to be more relieved and happy upon seeing how overly attentive their petite former captain is.

Looking up at the DJ with a beaming smile, Chloe giggles and laces their hands. Then Beca automatically leans downward to kiss the top of her head gently.

Meanwhile, Aubrey is watching with lips pressed tightly, arms crossed on her chest, and eyes narrowed. Somehow, she's not reassured yet that Beca is really doing it genuinely, especially after the night terror, and the meeting with Harvey and Donna. However, she keeps it to herself since Chloe is around.

After the laughter unwind, the DJ hurriedly says, "Let's get started."

"We'll start with Ace of Base, and then we can go with our first final's mash up." CR says while distributing papers to the rest of the Bellas.

They spend the next four hours simply recording those songs together. Everybody can actually feel the different air around them. It's lighter and more joyful than before. Except for Aubrey who is being awfully quiet.

When the clock hits 7 PM, Beca says, "I'll call a delivery service. We should have dinner together here."

"Sounds like a great idea." Stacie comments.

"But how about your kids?" Emily asks.

"Our families have gone back home this morning." Flo explains.

"Except for ours." Jessica says, and her wife adds, "The twins are with Isabelle at Stacie's place. The nannies are looking out for them. So, we can stay for dinner."

"This free range pony isn't gonna say no to free food." Fat Amy says in all seriousness.

"Aint' no way I'm not staying." CR adds.

"Me too." Lily whispers.

"I think I'll just go home now." Aubrey stands up. "I want to see my daughter before she goes to sleep."

"But, Babe." Stacie seems confused. "We're about to have dinner together. Besides, it will only be another hour, and we can go back home to see Bella together."

Truth to be told, Aubrey feels uncomfortable upon seeing how easily Beca pulls the Bellas to her side. For her, this feels like college all over again; the Bellas and even Chloe turned their back on her, just because Beca could show them something different. In the old time, she was the one who folded, who admitted defeat. However, she's not ready just yet this time. "We already had dinner together last night." She says as casually as possible while gathering her stuff. "You can stay if you want, Babe."

"Stay, Bree." Chloe pleads with puppy eyes as she grabs and holds Aubrey's right hand tightly.

Aubrey smiles, yet somehow it's mixed with a hint of sadness. "Sorry, Chloe. But I miss my daughter."

Chloe pouts, but then she softly says, "Fine. Say hi from me to Bella then."

"I will." Aubrey squeezes her best friend's left shoulder gently.

Upon seeing how determined her wife is, Stacie sighs heavily and says, "I'll go home with you." She looks at her sisters and apologetically says. "See you tomorrow, bitches."

"Bye, aca-nazy and hunter."

"See you tomorrow."

"Drive safely."

"Bye, Bree. Bye, Stace."

After the couple walk out, Beca asks Chloe, "So, Italian?"

"You know what I want." Chloe smiles at her wife.

The DJ turns to look at her friends and says, "You have to agree with the pregnant woman on this."

"In."

"Yes."

"Sure."

"Of course."

Then Beca calls the delivery service. Just as she ends the phone call, the redhead says, "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay." Beca nods. "Just be careful, Chlo."

Chloe giggles and says, "Always, Babe. I will not stop being careful just because you don't tell me to. Promise."

The DJ chuckles and kisses the redhead's cheek before letting her go.

After Chloe walks out of the studio, Flo says to the DJ, "Okay. We're sorry for acting like we have to protect Chloe all the time. Seems like she doesn't need any protection from us anymore."

"You're right. We're being unfair." Jessica says, and her wife adds, "You've married her, and you make her very happy. We shouldn't have doubted and kept pushing you for more to prove yourself."

"We've seen what you've been doing since you decided to marry her." Lily whispers. "And it seems like you're doing great so far."

Sudden rush of relief fills Beca's chest. She feels suffocated by it. Therefore, with a tight lipped smile, she simply nods. "Thanks." She offers them a handshake. "So, truce?"

Her sisters nod and smile. Instead of taking her hand, they pull her into a group hug.

"This is official." CR says. "Welcome back, Captain."

"Thanks." The DJ says as she wiggles out of the hug. "And enough taking advantage of me."

However, her sisters keep her in the circle, and then Emily says, "You need to get used to this, Pop. We'll be doing it a lot."

Beca rolls her eyes in mocked annoyance and stands stoically, simply letting her sisters hugging her. A relieved smile is playing by the corner of her lips; she almost can't hold back a grin. However, as relieved as she is because her sisters can finally see her effort, being touched by so many people at the same time still makes her uncomfortable. This feeling is applied to everybody, including her friends. Then she bats Fat Amy's hand away and bites, "Stop groping my ass, Fat Amy."

Fully knowing that their former captain isn't comfortable with too much skin to skin contact, the rest of the Bellas laugh again.

When Chloe walks back in, she's confused but happy to see the scene. Without saying anything, she joins her sisters in the group hug. They are laughing lightly and patting each other's back.

After they break the hug, they simply talk about how great the recording session today. The talk continues even after their dinner arrive. It's already 10 PM when they finally call it a night and go back to their designated places.

 


	2. Putting Back The Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Folks :) Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoring, and following.
> 
> The previous chapter ended with Beca gave another chance to her sisters, and also the other way around, with Aubrey as an exception. Starting from this chapter, the table is turned. Aubrey will be cornered.
> 
> And just a heads up, Ashley's back. So, bechloe shippers, brace yourself. And Ashley's shippers, brace yourself too. As a matter of fact, everybody, just brace yourself. As always, a stomach churning roller coaster.
> 
> Here it is, the second chapter. Another heads up, there's smut. There are also two songs in this chapter; Love Never Felt So Good by Justin Timberlake, and Think of You by Katy Perry.
> 
> I don't own PP, I don't own the songs, I don't own almost anything, I just own a very unusual idea for a story, and maybe a very dark and twisted mind. But I do hope you enjoy this story :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more thing before we begin, have you watched the Pitch Perfect 3 trailer? It's freaking awesome! If you haven't, then you should. Because it's freaking awesome!
> 
> Now let's start.

**Wednesday, May 13th 2026: MTV Awards**

Today is the day Beca will perform at the MTV Awards. She's been preparing with Justin Timberlake since last year, even before she and Ashley got engaged. Right now, she's standing in the back stage next to Justin Timberlake, trying to calm her mind wreaking havoc nerves.

Since the performance was intended for Ashley, one of the conditions the DJ requested was that the PLL series' casts should be sitting in the front row. In conclusion, this will be her first live performance in front of a large crowd after years, and she'll be seeing Ashley for the first time after her wedding. Combined with the fact that her wife will be sitting in the second row right behind her ex, talking about awkward seems to be a little bit inappropriate and belittling for her situation. To say that Beca feels nervous would be an understatement.

Fortunately, the second condition she demanded was, they had to make her performance as a surprise, meaning there are only a number of people who know that she'll be performing. That certainly eases a bit of her tension.

At some point, Justin Timberlake is called to the stage, and he greets the audience before he starts singing. It's a new arrangement of Love Never Felt So Good from the late Michael Jackson.

_Dance!_   
_Let me see you move..._   
_Come on!_   
_Dance!_   
_Let me see you move..._

After that, as on cue, Justin yells out DJ Mitchell loudly and the crowd goes wild. People are gasping, and yelling, and cheering.

When the DJ is already on the stage, she can see that Ashley is looking at her with eyes and mouth wide open, most likely stunned by the fact that she is singing in front of a bunch of audience. Beca can't help but smirking nervously at her ex before she starts singing.

_Baby, love never felt so good_   
_And I doubt if it ever could_   
_Not like you hold me, hold me_

_Oh baby, love never felt so fine_   
_And I doubt if it's ever mine_   
_Not like you've hold me, hold me_

_And the night is gonna be just fine_   
_Gotta fly_   
_Gotta see_   
_Can't believe_   
_I can't take it!_

_Cause baby, every time I love you_   
_In and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_   
_Tell me, if you really love me_   
_In and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_

_Cause baby,_   
_Love never felt so good_

With Justin Timberlake, Beca takes turns to not only singing, but also dancing. Surprisingly for her, the nerves she felt before she got on the stage is now gone. She is performing purely from the rush of the adrenaline. Her heart is pumping blood strongly, rushing to the tip of her fingers, giving out such energy.

_Ooh baby, love never felt so fine_   
_And I doubt if it was ever mine_   
_Not like you hold me, hold me_

_Ooh baby, love never felt so good_   
_And I doubt if it ever could_   
_Not like you hold me, hold me_

_And the night through the thick and thin_   
_Gotta fly_   
_Gotta see_   
_Can't believe_   
_I can't take it!_

_Cause baby, every time I love you_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_   
_Tell me, if you really love me_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_

_Cause baby, love never felt so good_

It's odd and hard to explain. The blonde and the redhead Beca loves are in a straight diagonal angle, and she can't decide which one she steals glances at the most. Is it her wife or her ex fiancé? Who can tell? All she knows is, both women are grinning at her with glimmering eyes, and it pumps her spirits even more.

_Break it down!_   
_Dance!_   
_Let me see you move..._   
_Let me see you move..._

_Dance!_   
_Let me see you move, come on!_   
_I said, let me see you move..._

_Mitchell!_

On that cue, Beca dances her silly overdramatic moves, earning a loud laughter from the audience. When she sees that Ashley is laughing whole-heartily, the dazzling laughter that could flutter her chest like a giddy teenager, Beca doesn't know why, maybe it's from the high of performing, and it happens so fast, but she just automatically throws a wink at the blonde without thinking.

From the sudden drastic change of look on Ashley's face, Beca can tell that the blonde knows to whom that wink was given to. But at this moment, she doesn't give a damn. Beca is bold tonight; she is on fire.

_And the night that feels good (feels good)_   
_Gotta fly_   
_Gotta see_   
_Can't believe_   
_I can't take it_

_Cause baby, every time I love you_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_   
_Tell me, if you really love me_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_Driving me, baby_

_Cause baby, love never felt so good_

_Baby, every time I love you_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_In-out, baby_   
_Tell me, if you really love me_   
_It's in and out my life,_   
_Driving me, baby_

_Cause baby, love never felt so good_

As the song comes to an end, Beca slows down the dance, smiling yet also breathing heavily, looking around the audience. She can feel that she belongs to do this; performing and singing. She feels so alive.

_Never felt so good, oh_   
_It never felt so good_   
_Never felt so... no_   
_It never felt so good_   
_Never felt so, yeah, yeah_   
_It never felt so good_

_Oh, oh!_

_It never felt so good_

_Alright, it's fine._

When the song ends, the clasping and cheering from the audience are deafening yet fulfilling. Justin wraps one arm around the DJ's shoulder from aside, and both of them bow down before getting off the stage with a huge grin on their faces.

"That was dope, Mitchell!" Justin raises one hand for a high five. "We should do this more often, dude!"

Beca slaps his palm hard. "Yeah, it was! It was a great performance! Thanks, J!"

"I have a project, Mitchell." Justin says as they walk back to their seats. "An animation about little creatures, and I think your voice will fit the main character's perfectly. I've got the songs ready."

"Noooo..." Beca says, scrunching her nose. "You know I don't do that kind of stuff, dude."

"Just think about it." Justin swifts his chin up. "Oh, Katy Perry is going to perform her song that you produced for the first time, right?"

Suddenly, the DJ is reminded with all of the reasons why she was nervous and anxious. Combined with the wink, her nerves turn into a mess. "Yep." She grimaces awkwardly. "Wish me luck. And her luck."

Justin laughs and says, "With your ability and her voice? I don't think luck will be an issue."

"Thanks." Beca grimaces while thinking to herself  _"I am so gonna need some luck tonight to make it out alive_. _"_

Just as the petite brunette takes her seat in between her wife and her aca child, Chloe greets her with a kiss on the cheek. "You and your dirty wink, Babe." The redhead whispers.

Feeling relieved that her wife didn't notice to whom her impromptu wink was given for, Beca simply smiles. Then she turns her attention back to the stage, stopping her gaze just for a split second on the back of Ashley's head in front of her. Upon not getting any reactions from the blonde, she genuinely doesn't know how to feel right now; relieved or terrified.

Suddenly, Emily pinches her arms so hard.

"Mother fuck-!" Beca yelps in a whisper and snaps her head to look at her aca-child angrily as she rubs her stinging arm.

Apparently, the youngest Bella is glaring at her. Before the petite brunette can say anything, Troian turns on her seat, staring sternly over her shoulder and says, "Didn't know that you have it in you to do that move, grumpy."

With a knowing and warning look, Patrick adds, "That was crazy, dude."

It's wrapped under vague compliments, but from the stern look, the DJ know that it must be about the wink. It must have been obvious for them because they know about her feelings to Ashley. Beca can't say anything without raising suspicions to her wife. Therefore, she raises her shoulders and holds up her hands in front of her chest, grimacing in a manner that says  _I didn't plan it. It just happened._

Seeming half-annoyed, Patrick simply sighs heavily and shakes his head, and Troian glances her eyes away sharply in annoyance. Thankfully, Chloe doesn't pay any attention to the exchange. She's still not comfortable with Beca's friends, and she tries to avoid even eye contacts with them, opting to check her phone instead. Then the rest of PLL's casts congratulate and compliment Beca on the performance. Well, other than Ashley and Shay obviously.

"Okay!" The host's loud voice pulls all of them back to the show. "That was an amazing performance from Justin Timberlake and Beca Mitchell! The DJ just gave us the honor to perform on a stage for the first time in forever! Give them the applause they truly deserve, people!"

Another clasping and cheering erupts from the audience once again. When the camera shoots her face closely along with Justin's into one screen, Beca simply shots back a light smile.

"Alright!" The host exclaims. "Next, we have Katy Perry with her new single, Thinking Of You. Which by the way, is written and produced by the one and only Beca Mitchell! Now, give it up for Katy Perry!"

While Katy Perry is walking out to the stage, Chloe leans closer to her wife and whispers, "I'm so proud of you, Babe."

The only thing Beca can do is taking her wife's hand into hers and pressing it onto her lips before holding it tightly on her thigh. She's breaking out in a cold sweat now, and it's not odd at all since she's already known the song Katy is about to perform. The DJ is more than sure that after hearing the song, the redhead will change her mind about feeling proud.

_Comparisons are easily done_   
_Once you've had a taste of perfection_   
_Like an apple hanging from a tree_   
_I picked the ripest one_   
_I still got the seed_

_You said move on_   
_Where do I go?_   
_I guess second best_   
_Is all I will know_

In the front seat, Ashley closes her eyes after listening to the first verse. She knows better than anyone else that Beca has written this song for her. If she was pissed before because of the wink, now she's angry.

_Cause when I'm with him_   
_I am thinking of you_   
_Thinking of you_   
_What you would do if_   
_You were the one_   
_Who was spending the night_   
_Oh I wish that I_   
_Was looking into your eyes_

_You're like an Indian summer_   
_In the middle of winter_   
_Like a hard candy_   
_With a surprise center_   
_How do I get better_   
_Once I've had the best?_   
_You said there's tons of fish in the water_   
_So the waters I will test_

_He kissed my lips_   
_I tasted your mouth_   
_He pulled me in_   
_I was disgusted with myself_

Meanwhile, Chloe is ready to bite someone's head off. There's no way she can miss the messages in that song. She knows that Beca always found inspirations from her own life's story. There are two possibilities; the song could be telling that Beca was always in love with her when she was still with Ashley, or Beca is still in love with Ashley even after being in a relationship with her. Since Ashley is still her hugest reason to feel insecure, and the lyrics is quite obviously leaning to which conclusion, she jumps to the worst later one.

Listening to a song that is not only dedicated for her wife's ex, but also not so subtly showing that she herself is just a second place for her wife is certainly infuriating. A stream of heat is crawling its way out of her skin.

_Cause when I'm with him_   
_I am thinking of you_   
_Thinking of you_   
_What you would do if_   
_You were the one_   
_Who was spending the night_   
_Oh I wish that I_   
_Was looking into..._

_You're the best_   
_And yes I do regret_   
_How I could let myself_   
_Let you go_   
_Now, now the lesson's learned_   
_I touched it I was burned_   
_Oh I think you should know_

The DJ herself is on pins and needles. She's tapping her foot and keeps stealing glances at both her wife and her ex. Even though she wanted to change her performance after deciding to marry Chloe, she couldn't have done that. JT and Katy would've thought that she was being unprofessional if she had even told them about the idea.

She can feel it on her skin, anger is fuming out from her wife like heated summer air in LA. When she feels like Chloe is trying to pull her hand back, Beca holds her hand even tighter. Even though she gets how upset her wife is, nothing she can say can make it better right now. Therefore, she thinks it's better to give the explanation after the awards.

_Cause when I'm with him_   
_I am thinking of you_   
_Thinking of you_   
_What you would do if_   
_You were the one_   
_Who was spending the night_

_Oh I wish that I_   
_Was looking into your eyes_   
_Looking into your eyes_   
_Looking into your eyes_

_Oh won't you walk through_   
_And bust in the door_   
_And take me away_   
_Oh no more mistakes_

_'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay..._

_Stay..._

After the song ends, the wave of cheering and clasping is grande.

"It was a beautiful song, Katy!" The host says from the stage.

"Indeed." Katy Perry gestures her hand to Beca. "Thanks to Beca Mitchell who wrote it just as I wanted. I just told her bits and pieces about how I got the idea, yet the result is so outstanding."

"It's about her love story with John and Orlando." Beca whispers to her wife. "You've heard about her on and off relationship with John, right?"

Upon getting that explanation, Chloe feels so relieved in an instant, a bit surprised that none of her assumptions is right. As if being rained with a bucket of cold water, the flame is put out in a matter of seconds. She sighs and chuckles at the same time.  _"Jesus, Chloe. You have to stop doubting your wife. Stop getting too wrapped up in your own head. Not everything is always about you."_

Beca is also relieved because Katy's explanation just saved her from a bullet. Though, she knows that there's still one other bullet she needs to dodge, most likely coming from her ex. Definitely, maybe.

"Okay!" The host is looking at the DJ. "That's it! Come on up, Mitchell! Tell us about this song you wrote and produced!"

Beca holds up her hands in front of her chest and shakes her head lightly, refusing to comply politely.

"I believe the crowds want you here! Am I right?!" The male host exclaims loudly, and the crowd starts chanting the DJ's name. "Mitchell! Mitchell! Mitchell!"

Upon hearing the cheering from the audience, Beca sighs and looks at Chloe as if asking if it will be okay for her to go to the stage.

Chloe kisses her cheek and cheerfully says, "Go, Babe. Make me prouder."

"Okay." The DJ nods and stands up, walking to the stage with a tight-lipped smile on her face.

Meanwhile, after Beca walks passed the first row, Ashley stands up.

Shay holds her back by the hand and asks, "Where are you going, Babe?"

"Restroom." The blonde says hurriedly. Without waiting for any responses, she paces her way out. She clearly needs some air to calm her angry nerves.

Troian and Patrick certainly can't follow their best friend without making Shay become suspicious. Therefore, both of them automatically look back at Emily. The youngest Bella gets the hint and whispers to Chloe, "Chloe, I need to go to the restroom."

The redhead is too busy fixing her attention at her wife on the stage, and she simply nods.

Then Emily hurriedly follows Ashley out of the hall.

Back to the stage. Once Beca is already standing next to Katy Perry, she subtly glances at Ashley's seat. However, the seat is empty. Then she looks around with her eyebrows furrowed, searching, yet the blonde is nowhere to be found. She feels bad for the situation, but all she can do is sighing deeply.

"So DJ Mitchell, tell us how you got the inspirations for the song." The Host says.

"Well," Beca grimaces nervously and scratches her nose. "Katy has already told you. We talked about her... idea, and I uh... well, it was quite... you know, people could easily relate to the same experience. Maybe. I think. So... well... it's based on her story, and I just... helped her expressing her feelings with a song."

"Have you ever been in the same situation?" The host asks with a teasing smirk. "You know, being with someone when you're still in love with someone else?"

It's certainly implying about how she started a relationship with Chloe so fast after breaking up with Ashley. The thing is, the public and her wife couldn't know for sure which person is in which position. They could easily assume that Ashley was the person in the second place; that Beca was still in love with her first love even though she was in a relationship with Ashley. That is the most reasonable and fitting explanation for their sudden breakup. As much a lie as it is, saying that would've been an easy way out, but Beca couldn't bring herself to do that to Ashley. Therefore, she laughs dryly and says, "No talking about personal life, dude."

"You're not saying no." The host pursues playfully.

"No personal stuff." The DJ says with firmer tone, trying to keep the smile intact on her face.

"Come on." The hosts pushes more buttons.

Still with the same nervous grimace, Beca points at her wife and retorts, "You see that beautiful redhead over there?"

As the camera points and shoots at Chloe, to which Chloe returns with a light wave and a beaming smile, the host responds, "U huh?"

"She's my girlfriend." The DJ says. "And I don't think you want to mess with her tonight by arising a rumor. I could end up sleeping on the couch because of you, dude."

The host, Katy Perry, Chloe, and the audience bark out a loud laughter. Not with Troian and Patrick obviously. They are looking at each other with a knowing gaze. They know clearly the answer for that question. Even Shay is upset, yet she says nothing about it.

* * *

**After The Award**

All along the way back, Beca and Chloe are sitting on the backseat of the car in silence. The DJ is thinking, worried about her ex.

On the other hand, Chloe seems so think that her wife is still occupied with the performance. It was the first time after years for Beca to sing in front of such a large crowd nonetheless. The redhead knows that Beca must be replaying the whole thing in her head, wondering if she had given the best. Therefore, she simply holds her wife's hand tightly without saying anything, giving a space for her wife to contemplate.

When they've arrived at home, Beca immediately takes a shower to cool down her nerves. After that, she takes her meds and simply waits for Chloe to freshen up on the bed. She's holding her phone, considering to call Ashley, but she decides against it. Even though she wants to make sure that the blonde is okay, she knows that she has no right, and she shouldn't do that.

Other than the fact that she's the one who upset Ashley, the brunette also doesn't want to do something to upset her wife. She was lucky at the awards, dodging so many bullets, but luck has its own expiration date.

With a long tired sigh, the DJ puts her phone on the nightstand and lies on the bed. She rests one arm on her forehead, thinking about Ashley and what she did to her. Knowing that she has hurt Ashley again, Beca shakes her head and sighs heavily in regret. She doesn't even notice that her wife is already walking out of the bathroom without wearing anything at all.

Gently, the redhead climbs onto the bed and lies half on top of her. She caresses her cheek and cheerfully says, "Thank you for the flowers you sent for me at school today. What did I do to deserve such a hot romantic wife?"

Beca simply smiles.

Something is definitely bothering the brunette. Chloe can see that, but she can't tell what it is about. Just like when they talked in the bathtub, this unreadable look bothers her. Back in college, it didn't take long for Chloe to understand her DJ's body language. Since Beca was so closed off, the redhead was obsessed to find out every meaning behind every expressions. Soon enough, every curl of lips, every wrinkle on the forehead, every single turn of chin, every roll of shoulders, Chloe could tell easily the difference between which expressions was showing which feelings. Was Beca sad, or mad, or annoyed, or tired, or pretending to be annoyed, or hungry, or shy, or embarrassed, or happy, or excited? Chloe could tell simply by a bit tug on the corner of her lips. Was it a genuine smile, or a covering smile, or simply a polite smile? She could tell it all in a heartbeat.

Back then, even though Beca always found it hard to convey what she was thinking, Chloe used to know the sequence, the train of her thought; from here to there, connecting the dots that led to the right conclusion. She really earned the tittle  _Beca whisperer_  for her effort. The only thing she was never sure of was Beca's feeling for her. That was the only thing stopping her from coming forward with her own feeling, scared of ruining their friendship, especially since Beca was a runner champion.

As obvious as it was, Chloe had thought that Beca was treating her differently because she was the first best friend for the brunette. The best-est friend. It reassured her more when her sisters were also thinking the same way. Besides, Beca didn't seem like a gay at all. Nothing about her screamed gay even a little bit.

After they met again, Chloe was still focused on herself. Yes, they had spent so much times talking about their past, but it was mostly about hers, not about Beca's. Combined with the fact that Beca has become more open to convey her thoughts compared to the old times, no longer wearing her heart on her sleeve, Chloe has been spoiled from re-learning about the person she loves the most. She thought she knew who she's married to inside out. Apparently not.

She didn't really understand it before about Beca has become a different person. Now that they've gotten married, naturally, Chloe's insecurity is wearing down and she can see it more clearly; she doesn't really know anything about Beca like she did before. Sure, it's easy to tell when Beca is happy or excited. The goofy grin hasn't changed even a bit, and Beca has become more open to share her thought verbally. The brunette is the king of sweet talking now, and it's like 180 degree different from college Beca. But some of the frowns, the scowls, the pursed lips are harder to decipher now. Sometimes, it's hard for her to tell what Beca's feeling without asking, and she can't really tell if Beca is telling the truth even if she's asked.

Since Beca had told her about how open she was with Ashley, how they could be honest with each other just about everything, Chloe found it confusing that for her, Beca became more concealed in particular things.

This is bothering her a lot, but she takes it as a challenge.  _"It shouldn't be hard, right? I've done it before. I can do it all over again."_  She tries to encourage herself. Therefore, she takes a deep breath and asks, "Becs, what are you thinking?"

"Nothing."

"Hey..." Chloe strokes her head gently, smiling ever so fondly. "This nothing is making you look twenty years older. Look at the wrinkles by your forehead. I need a mama for Peanut, not a grand-mama."

Beca scoffs and chuckles at the same time, distracted from her worry. Then she pokes her wife's nose gently with her index finger, grinning as she says, "Nothing you should be worried about, wife."

"Who says that I'm gonna worry?" Chloe pouts. "And why can't I be worried about my wife?"

The DJ smiles lightly, letting out a deep sigh in the way and says, "I'm fine. Just... thinking about the performance. I... I'm not sure it was right for me to you know, to do it. Maybe I shouldn't have performed at all. I'm thinking about what... people would think and feel about... the songs." It's not exactly a lie. She's simply slipping in the truth, even sounds convincingly nervous, directing her wife to the wrong direction with technicality and semantic.

It's nothing new for the DJ to do that. Back when she was an addict, she had learnt the art of lying and manipulating. It's a required skill for  _most_  addicts to master so they could hide and deny their addiction whether to the people around them and to themselves. Since she started dating Ashley, she had to bury this particular trait because Ashley could always call her up on her shit easily. No wonder at all because Ashley's father was an addict, and her father had told her everything about his past, including the art of lying and manipulating he had done.

However, since Beca started dating Chloe, she had to dig out this skeletons from deep in her closet. Not with ill intention certainly, but simply because with Chloe, honesty isn't the best policy. Being honest didn't work once, and the DJ couldn't risk another suicide attempt for trying again. Well, at least not now, and seems like not soon.

It works, like always. With an understanding look, Chloe smiles and nods, thinking that her previous guess is right. "You don't have to worry, Babe. You did great, amazing even on the performance. Don't think about what people might say about it."

The brunette didn't mean to deceive her wife, and she wasn't comfortable doing it, but she couldn't tell the truth. It's better to feel uncomfortable for a moment than to break her wife's heart.  _"You're not lying, Mitchell."_  She tries to reassure herself. _"You're just... not giving the whole specific truth. It's not lying. Not precisely. You don't want to hurt your wife with details that you yourself can't really change right now."_

"Thanks, wife." The DJ says with her stomach knotted uncomfortably. As simple as it is to do, it isn't easy because it reminds her of one part of her and her life that she doesn't really like; her addict's traits.

Then Chloe starts kissing her on the lips.

Since the DJ is still preoccupied with the thought of her ex, combined with the fact that she's worn out by the performance, she returns the kiss half-heartily. When Chloe wants to deepen the kiss, she pulls away and apologetically says, "Sorry, Chlo. Can we just sleep? I'm beat. You know how pumped up adrenaline works. It's wearing down just as fast as it raises up, and it got me tired."

As much as her wife tries to look okay, and she seems as okay as someone who's worrying about her performance, Chloe still has a feeling that there's something more. Refusing to have sex is a huge bright sign. But she can't pin point what it is, and it seems like her wife isn't ready to tell her yet. She's not sure if she should break her wife's wall like the way she did in college, or like the way Ashley did after college. Should she be patient and sweet, or should she be blunt and pushy? Chloe's conflicted, and the worse thing is, she's afraid that this is just her insecurity talking; thinking that her wife doesn't trust her enough.  _"What if Beca is just really tired?"_  Thinking about all of this is giving her a little swirl in the pit of her stomach in a not good kind of way. Nevertheless, she puts on a smile and simply says, "Okay."

"Don't worry, wife." Beca brushes off a strand of hair from Chloe's face. "I'll be okay again in the morning. This is just the residual tension. I just need to sleep it off."

"I know." Chloe covers her wife under a Bali sarong and lies her temple on her wife's left chest. Thankfully, her wife is wearing a shirt and covered under a Bali sarong. Seeing the tattoo still makes her feel uneasy. Therefore, she's been avoiding it. She doesn't do it in purpose, it's an automatic subconscious act. As her index finger trailing Beca's collarbone, she softly says, "I'm here for you, Becs. I'm with you. For better for worse." Seems like she's sticking with patient and sweet in the end, naturally.

The DJ's heart swells, and somehow she's sure, she's falling even more with her first love. It's not hard to fall in love with  _this_  Chloe. It wasn't hard back in college, and it isn't hard now. After the thunderstorm in the beginning of their relationship passed, and then especially after she made a decision to marry her, the falling in love seemed to be following naturally. If it hadn't been for her love to Ashley, Beca would've been crazily, to the moon and back in love with her loving wife. She's sure about it because she'd been there before; in love head over heels with the redhead. "I know." She replies softly. "I'm here for you too. With you, for better for worse."

Chloe snuggles closer, tighter to her wife, and then she says through a yawn, "Good night, Babe. I love you."

"Good night, Chlo." Beca says before she pulls away from the hug and scoots downward to kiss her wife's stomach. "Good night, Peanut. I love you both." Then she scoots back up and lets Chloe hugs her again tightly.

Not long after, the redhead falls asleep. On the other hand, the DJ is still thinking and worrying about Ashley. It's not until two in the morning that Beca finally falls into a restless sleep out of exhaustion.

In the morning, true to her words, Beca makes love to her wife like there's no tomorrow. No matter how upset she is, apparently she can't resist the charm coming from her glowing pregnant wife for too long, especially when she's waken up with a hot steamy kiss.

* * *

**Beca's Studio: The Day After MTV Award, around 07.00 PM**

"I think that's it for today." CR says to her sisters. They just recorded Flashlight and Party In the USA today.

The rest of the Bellas seem to be relieved. It's been a long day for all of them, and all they want is to have dinner together, go back to their places, and rest.

"Chlo." Beca walks to her wife and wraps her arms around the redhead's torso. Chloe automatically clasps her hands behind the brunette's neck. "I have to stay late in the office. You know, to finish some work that I've been neglecting for doing this album and preparing the awards."

"Can't you do it at home?" Chloe pouts.

Beca chuckles and kisses her wife's lips chastely. Then she says with a knowing smirk, "I think we know that I won't be working at home."

With glimmering puppy eyes, the redhead says, "Then let me stay here with you."

"No..." The brunette softly says while brushing a strand of hair to the back of Chloe's ear. "Go have dinner with our sister, then go home, stretch your legs, roll on the bed, and rest. I'll join you as soon as my work is done."

"I can do all of that in the bedroom next to your office."

Beca chuckles for seeing how stubborn the redhead is, and she pinches her cheek playfully. "Go home, wife. If you stay here, I have an idea of what we'll be doing instead of me working."

Chloe purses her lips in a way that shows she doesn't like the idea of being home without her wife. Nevertheless, she knows that her wife is right; she most likely will demand sex if she chooses to stay, and her wife will definitely comply eagerly. "Fine." She pouts. "I'll go home with Stacie and Bree. But don't take too long."

"I won't." The DJ replies. Then she bends down to kiss Chloe's stomach. "You be good for Mommy. Okay, Peanut? Mama has to work late today."

Chloe smiles and caresses her wife's head gently.

After rubbing the redhead's stomach again, Beca straightens up and turns to look at Stacie. "Stace, can I trust you to drive my wife and Peanut home tonight?"

"Of course." Stacie says with her eyebrows furrowed. "But aren't you also going home?"

"No can't do." The DJ replies. "Got to finish some work before I have to go on our honeymoon next week."

"Oh." Stacie nods absentmindedly. "Okay." She looks at Chloe. "Ready to go home?"

"Just one more thing." The redhead says before she turns to give a long deep kiss that leaves her wife breathless and dizzy. Then she trails her index finger down her wife's throat and says with husky voice, "Come home soon, Baby. I'll be waiting for you."

Still frazzled from the kiss, Beca shakes her head lightly and blinks several times before she replies, "I will, wife. Midnight the latest. Don't forget to have a proper dinner and take your vitamins."

"You too." Chloe says and gives her wife another chaste kiss on the lips before she walks away.

Then the DJ says goodbye to all of her sisters before going into her office and starts working while having dinner. She's so focused on working that she doesn't realize how long it's been. Suddenly, she hears loud voices coming from outside of her office. With her eyebrows drawn tightly, she glances at the clock to find that it's already 10 PM.

"Ashley, come on! You can't do this!" Donna says as she and Ashley walk into the DJ's office.

"Do not tell me what I can or cannot do, Donna!" Ashley snaps.

It's obvious what it's about. Therefore, Beca stands up and hurriedly says, "It's okay, Donna. Let her in. And uh... please leave us alone."

Donna flashes Beca a worried look, and the brunette herself simply nods lightly. Therefore, the redhead turns on her heels and walks out.

Meanwhile, Ashley is already walking towards her ex. From the way she's tripping on her feet, the DJ can tell that she's indeed drunk. Even so, Beca still finds her stunning in a simple blue flared dress, her face free of makeup.

When Beca sees that Ashley is almost falling down, unsteady in her drunken state, she sprints to the blonde and holds her waist. "Careful there, Bee." She says worriedly.

Ashley wiggles out from Beca's grip harshly and snaps, "Do not fucking touch me!"

Afraid of upsetting the blonde more, Beca takes a step back, both hands in front of the chest to show that she's not touching her. She can taste the whiskey blowing out of the blonde's mouth.  _"Heavy stuff. This must be bad."_ She cringes, knowing that Ashley usually preferred wine.

On the other hand, Ashley is steadying herself on her feet. Then she presses her index finger onto Beca's left chest, and jabs it hard repeatedly in between words. "You, are, a, fucking, asshole, Beca Mitchell!"

Knowing that she shouldn't talk back to a drunk Ashley, Beca nods and says, "You're right... I am."

Ashley ignores her ex and keeps on talking, slurring, and jumbling her words as she yells, "I- I told you to move on! And I... And I... I fucking told you to let me move on!"

When Ashley is about to fall down again, Beca automatically grabs the curve on her side to hold her up.

"But nooooo!" Ashley shoves the DJ's shoulders harshly. "You fucking asshole!... Your fucking married ass!... ju- just had to write songs... fucking love songs! For your sad and brokenhearted ex-fiancé!"

Beca sighs deeply in regret yet she says nothing in return, knowing that Ashley needs to do this as her catharsis.

"And was it enough for you?!" The blonde snaps even louder, flaunting her hands around her head. "Fucking no! It wasn't enough for the genius Beca Mitchell!... The fucking musical prodigy!... To just write the song and keep them for- for herself!... You just had to throw them to my face!... Along with a fucking wink! A, fucking, wink! I- in front of everybody! In front of your fucking wife! Really?!"

"I'm sorry." The DJ mutters with sad look, her chest is aching from seeing how hurt Ashley is, and she tries to hold her.

Ashley scoffs and swats her ex's arms away harshly. "No, you're fucking not!... You're fucking happy doing it!... Because you, are, a fucking, jerk!"

"I really am sorry for being such a jerk." Beca mutters weakly. From seeing how upset Ashley is, she has to put all of her will to fight the urge to hug Ashley tightly. To hug the pain away.

"Did you think that I'd be flattered?!" The blonde yells more. "Did you... did you think somehow it would make it better?! Di- did you fucking think that it was romantic?! It... it was fucking mean! And cruel!"

It was rare to hear Ashley cursing the F word, yet she's been saying it more than she's ever had in her whole life only by snapping at Beca in less than 10 minutes. The blonde isn't against cursing because she curses sometimes, but rarely the F word. She's keeping it to give an emphasis effect when she uses it, and it works.

With her hands gripping the front of Beca's shirt tightly, Ashley slurs, "You thought you're so great... but the truth is... the truth is... you're so infuriating! And hateful! And... and annoying! And childish! And heartless!" Then she pushes Beca on the chest, pointing her index finger while weakly saying, "You walked into my life... with that fucking charming smirk... with your... with that adorable awkward snarky remarks... you made me fall in love with you... and despite the fact that... that you are so maddening to be in love with... I fucking love you anyway..." Her eyes has become teary, and the look on her face only shows sadness. "And then... when, when I was completely... helplessly in love with you... when I... when I was freakishly sure that I couldn't live without you... you just fucking left! You left and chose another woman!"

Although Beca knows that it was their mutual decision, but Ashley is beyond drunk. She is pretty sure that Ashley won't even remember any of this in the morning. Therefore, she chooses to calmly say, "Okay. I am a heartless asshole."

"And a fucking jerk!"

"And a fucking jerk, indeed." Beca confirms patiently. "But you're drunk, and you need to sit down."

"I will sit the fuck down..." Ashley spats out. "When I want to sit the fuck down! Do not... you don't get to fucking tell me what I need... or do not need! You can't!... And you don't have the right anymore... you've... you... have lost your right to tell me what to do! You have become nobody in my fucking life!"

Beca feels a hard pang in her chest, and she closes her eyes, trying to hold the unbearable pain. Though, her scrunched up face shows it all when she breathes out, "You don't mean it. You're drunk."

Upon seeing how hurt the DJ is, tears start streaming down the blonde's face. However, Ashley wipes them off instantly. Then she hits Beca's chest with her fists while snapping in between hits, "I hate you!... I fucking hate you, Beca Mitchell!... I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!... I fucking hate you for making me fall in love with you this hard!... I fucking hate you for not letting me move on!... I just... I fucking hate you!"

Beca doesn't do and say anything to stop Ashley. The weak hitting is nothing, and it doesn't hurt at all since Ashley is drunk, especially compared to the pang under her diaphragm from seeing how miserable Ashley is because of her.

When Ashley gets nothing in return, the hitting has become weaker as well as the yelling, her back bent down, her forehead resting on her fists on Beca's chest. She's crying so hard now when she sobs out, "Why... why couldn't you just let me go? Why... are you making it so hard to unlove you?"

Gone are the strings that holds Beca's self-control. She just can't help herself anymore, and she hugs Ashley tightly. A wave of warmth washes all over her, and she feels contented. It's not right to feel that way in this situation, but she has missed this feeling of having Ashley in her arms; missed the feeling of acknowledging her own steady heartbeat, missed the warm coconut vanilla scent that could always bring her comfort.

Now she realizes why she loves Chloe's new coconut scent so much. Although, Chloe's perfume is vanilla scented, and the shampoo she started to use after dating Beca is coconut scented. Therefore, the vanilla scent is stronger. It's the other way around with Ashley where the coconut scent is stronger, plus there's this natural scent that Beca can only describe as Ashley's patented pheromone. It's soft but enticing yet also calming at the same time. She could feel it the strongest after the blonde woke up every morning, and it could always make her feel safe.

Cautiously, she presses her nose onto the area under Ashley's earlobe and pulls in a deep deep breath through her nose. It doesn't even take a heartbeat, the warm rush in her chest brings tears into her eyes, but she smiles. It's like she just gets a fix for her addiction or something, but much better than a nicotine fix, and over the top compared to drinking vodka or tequila. Contrary to the substance effects, this fix makes her trembling down to her toes for a second, and then she feels steady on her feet, grounded, sober. Like a cleansing process washes all over her thoroughly.

Ashley tries to shove the DJ away by pushing her arms onto Beca's chest.

However, Beca tightens her arms around her ex's back and mutters, "I'm sorry, Ash... I really am. I'm a fucking jerk for hurting you this way. And I'm really, really sorry."

"Stop!" Ashley snaps in tears, shoving her arms onto Beca's chest even harder, but Beca doesn't budge. "Stop pretending that you're sorry! Just fucking stop!"

"Ash... I'm not..." The DJ is trying so hard to keep her voice intact and not shaky. "Just let me take care of you, okay?"

Ashley finally surrenders, sobbing hard onto Beca's shoulder, limping in Beca's arms, still with her own arms in between their chests. They remain in that position for a while; Beca is simply rubbing Ashley's back, mumbling I'm sorry over and over again with her lips pressed onto the side of Ashley's head, and Ashley just keeps on crying her eyes out.

Around ten minutes later, the blonde gags, and she covers her mouth. Knowing that Ashley is about to throw up, Beca releases her automatically, and the blonde rushes her way into the bathroom inside the bedroom next door.

While Ashley is pouring out everything from her stomach into the toilet, Beca simply holds back her blonde hair and rubs her back gently.

After the blonde is out of gut stuff to throw up, she looks at the DJ over her shoulder and smiles weakly.

Beca is taken aback, but she automatically pulls Ashley into her arms, her heartbeat becomes slower. This particular scene happened once in their life on the eventful night where she got her second heart attack. She remembers how drunk they were, but how oddly sober she was the moment she saw Ashley smiling over the shoulder after throwing up.

"Becs..." Ashley's weak mumbling pulls the DJ out from the memory lane. "Water..."

Beca stands up hurriedly and takes a glass of water by the sink. Then she hands it Ashley. However, the blonde is too weak to even take the item. Ashley just lays her head on the edge of the toilet seat, her arms hugging the toilet as if her life depends on it. She's breathing heavily with her eyes closed, blowing a strand of damp hair on her face up and down.

After helping her ex drinking a glass of water, Beca runs outside to grab her phone and calls Donna. "I need your help." She says instantly the second Donna picks up. Then she runs back into the bathroom.

Ashley is lying and curling on the floor right now, looking almost unconscious. When Donna comes in, both her and Beca hold up and drag the blonde into the bedroom. After putting Ashley down onto the bed, Beca sees that Ashley's dress in drenched in sweat. Therefore, she mutters to Donna, "Donna, do you mind helping her change? I uh... I don't think it's appropriate for me to do that."

"Of course." Donna replies. Just as the brunette walks out of the bedroom, Donna immediately finds a shirt and short pants from Beca's closet. Then she changes Ashley's clothes. It's not hard to do because the blonde is only wearing a flared dress and a pair of flat shoes. After helping the blonde lying back on the bed, Donna walks into the DJ's office. With her hands on her hips, she simply stares at the DJ angrily.

Beca is standing by her desk, leaning her butt onto the edge, facing down to the floor with both arms crossed on her chest. She seems apologetic when she glances her eyes up at her assistant and mutters, "She's uhm... angry."

"No shit, Sherlock!" The redhead scolds. "I think there were only a couple of deaf elderly across the pacific ocean who didn't hear her yelling. And after what you did at the MTV Awards, you got off easy. If I were her, I would've slapped you so hard that you could've fallen into a coma."

Feeling guiltier yet doesn't want to argue, Beca clears her throat and asks, "Can you please bring in two bottles of vitamin water and aspirins?"

Donna sighs in annoyance but nods. After she walks out to get the said items, Beca walks back into the bedroom. Ashley seems to be sleeping; lying and curling on her side. Gently, Beca sits down on the edge of the bed near her, and studies her sleeping face.

Ashley's eyes are swollen and puffy, her cheeks are red and wet from the tears, and her lips are slightly parted, blowing a strand of hair on her face. Since she has a sensitive skin, she rarely wears makeup at home, and Beca loves seeing this plain sight of her. After the burst of rage, she looks so peaceful in her sleep.

Even though the DJ wants nothing else but hugging her tightly, she doesn't do it. She brushes the blonde hair off her face and simply stares at her with a contented smile. When Donna comes back with two bottles of vitamin water and aspirins, Beca puts the items on the nightstand, and then both her and Donna walk back into the office.

"I'll stay with her tonight."

"And what about your pregnant wife?" Donna asks sharply.

With torn look, Beca glances her eyes away from the redhead and runs her fingers through her hair in frustration before she mutters, "I'll just call her and say that I have to stay here for work."

"I don't think it's a good idea, Monkey." Donna says firmly. "Both lying to your wife and staying with Ashley."

"I know, Donna!" The brunette raises her voice a bit. "But what else can I do anyway? Leave Ashley alone in this office? Or tell Chloe that I'm staying the night in the studio with my ex?"

"I can take Ashley back to the mansion."

"No." Beca says hurriedly. "I uh... let her sleep. I'll stay with her." When she sees Donna raise an eyebrow, she adds, "I won't do anything inappropriate, Donna. Promise. I just... I want to make sure that she's fine, and I need to apologize when she wakes up. It's the least I can do after... well, you know..."

Donna spends ten seconds staring sternly into the DJ's eyes, arms crossed on her chest, heels tapping on the floor, and Beca knows how long it is because she counts it in her dreaded mind while chewing the inside of her cheeks.

"Okay."

Beca sighs in relief.

"But no funny business, Monkey. She's completely drunk."

Beca rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Do you think I'm that low? That I'd take advantage of her drunken state? Besides, I'm fucking married, and my wife is pregnant."

Donna sighs heavily, but still seems annoyed when she says, "Fine. I believe you. I have to go home now. But call me if you need anything."

"I will." The DJ nods.

After Donna goes out, Beca calls Chloe immediately. "Chlo, hey." She softly says after Chloe picks up. "No, I'm not on my way home. I uh... I'm gonna have to stay in the studio tonight." ... ... ... "No, everything's fine. Something just came up, and I have to deal with it right away." ... ... ... "No, you don't need to come back. I'll be fine." ... ... ... "Yea, I already have dinner and my meds." ... ... ... "I'm sure, wife. You just rest, okay? Don't worry about me." ... ... "Yeah, goodnight." ... ... "I love you too. Rub peanut goodnight for me."

Beca puts the phone on her desk and huffs out a long tired breath. Then she goes back to working. From time to time, she turns her head to look at the bedroom door in her office, distracted in between nervous and excited for having her ex next door.

It's already 12 AM when she decides to call it a night, and she leans back onto the chair while massaging the back of her neck. Then she turns her head to look at the bedroom again, considering if she should stay in there with Ashley.

The temptation is getting higher, and her self-control is chipped thin as the second goes by. She shuts her eyes tightly and massages the bridge in between her eyes. "Oh, fuck it." She mutters in the end.

Then she walks into the bedroom, headed straight into the bathroom to freshen up. After changing into a shirt and a pair of sweat pants, she takes a Bali sarong from the closet. However, she doesn't dare to get on the bed. Instead, she stands by the edge of it, clutching her Bali sarong tightly on her thigh with one hand.

She doesn't know why, but it feels like the room is too small and packed for the two of them right now. It makes her feel somehow hot and suffocated. In reality, the room is actually big enough for a king size bed, a mini pantry, a bathroom, a closet, a drawer, and there's still enough room if she wants to roll all over the carpet.

For around five minutes, Beca doesn't dare to do anything else other than staring at the blonde's back, tapping her foot, fidgeting her fingers on her thigh, feeling so frustrated. She's torn in between feeling sorry for her wife, but also wanting to be close to her ex. At some point, she shuts her eyes tightly. "Jesus!" She curses under her breath. "What the fuck are you afraid of? It's not like you're having sex with her, Mitchell. You're just sleeping on the same bed. Friends do that, right? It's fucking normal!"

After making up her mind, she takes a deep deep breath and huffs out one hell of nerve wreaking breath harshly. Then she gets onto the bed, lying on the other side from Ashley. At first, she's lying on her back. From time to time, she turns her head slightly to glance at Ashley's back next to her. There's a pretty decent distance between them, a short meter that seems so far right now. It's strange how she feels the room is closing in, but the gap between her and Ashley feels like miles away.

Then she gently turns on her side and faces Ashley's back. The first thing she looks at is the curve of Ashley's neck. She remembers how it felt like to press her lips on it, to breathe in the warmth of Ashley's patented pheromone from that particular area when they woke up together every morning.

Even though Ashley is fully dressed right now, it doesn't stop the DJ's eyes from trailing the curve on her side, the dimples on the bottom of her spine, and the moles on her curvy back solely from what she remembers. Every inches of Ashley's bare body, the brunette can make a vivid painting of it only from her memory. That image usually could evoke the beast in the pit of her stomach.

However, there's another surge of feeling that is more dominant than her desire to have Ashley in every single way right now. It's something that she can only describe as longing, and it's worming its way in her chest, making her vulnerably helpless yet also oddly joyful. Vulnerably helpless because she can't express how much she has missed Ashley, but she's also in joy only for having Ashley by her side. It's absurd, but that's how she's feeling. Her mind is flooded with so many thoughts, jumping from one to another so vastly that she literally doesn't really know what she's actually thinking. It makes her antsy, and the rumbling nerve in her chest becomes more and more unbearable.

When she can't hold the twisted feeling in her chest anymore, she scoots closer, and then very slowly, ever so cautiously, she rests her forehead onto the shoulder blade on Ashley's back. The second her skin meets Ashley's warmth embrace over the shirt, the storm in Beca's mind quiets down, and she can literally feel her tense shoulder becomes relaxed, her heart swells, and her lungs expands. She sighs contentedly, closing her heated eyes and smiling in relief. "God, Ash..." She says in barely a whisper. "I've missed you. So... fucking... much...," ended with a damp chuckle.

Beca lets herself savoring the peace of mind she got from being close to Ashley, listening to her own steady heartbeat that's thumping in her ear, relishing every long steady breaths filled with Ashley's natural warm scent through her nose into her stomach, really being mindful in the present moment. Because, who knows if she'll ever get another chance like this.

Eventually, the DJ feels sleepy. She's aware enough that she has to move away before falling asleep. Therefore, she takes one last deep breath and scoots backward before turning her back on the blonde. How she can do it easily? She has no idea.

With a contented smile, she covers her chest with the Bali sarong and closes her eyes. She doesn't really need her security blanket actually, because the person who could always make her feel safe is lying next to her. It's just out of a habit, and the fact that her wife's faint scent on the soft fabric, the one that stands out from the vanilla coconut scent, the one that distinguishes Chloe from Ashley could be a strong self-restraint.

* * *

**In The Morning**

Nobody knows how and why, or who did it first. It just happened. Somehow, they stirred in their sleep and met in the middle of the bed. It's like they rotated to find their way back to each other.

Right now, they are lying face to face, arms and knees bended in the middle, so close, but not touching each other. Almost, barely, but their skin doesn't meet. Just millimeters away, ghosting, sharing the same air and warmth that vaporized out of the pores on their skin.

Eventually, Ashley's eyes flutter open. Blurry as it is, and her eyes aren't completely open yet, but the hazy view of Beca's frowny sleeping face registered into her mind. A smile breaks on her face, and she sighs contentedly as she closes her eyes again.

The sound of their breathing, the warm mixed breaths from her and the brunette, a light good kind of thrill on her skin that's barely touching Beca's, it all comes into her senses. Slowly but sure, the blonde starts to wake up. When the gear in her brain starts to kick in fully, her eyes shot open and she sits up abruptly "What the- Aw!" She massages her suddenly banging forehead.

It's not strange at all that Beca remains still in her slumber.

However, Ashley is panicking. She presses the bottom of her palms onto her eyes so hard to hold the pain in her head, and then she looks back and forth between her changed clothes and her ex fiancé who's still sleeping soundly, then she looks around with her mouth gaped dumbfounded. Clearly, obviously, but very confusingly, something doesn't add up for her. In fact, nothing adds up at all. She snaps her mouth shut and shakes Beca's shoulder. "Moz, wake up!"

"Engh..." The DJ grunts but still more asleep than awake.

"Mozzie!" Ashley shakes her ever harder. "Wake up!"

"Whaa..." Beca mumbles and rubs the sleep off her eyes.

"What the hell happened?!" Just a little bit higher, and the only thing that can hear Ashley's voice would be bats.

"Nothing happened," slurred out of the DJ's lips, and then she stretches her back, pushing her arms up, spreading her toes while yawning out a loud hippo sound. It seems like she doesn't have any care for the world, especially after having a restful sleep.

On the other hand, Ashley has become frantic. "What? How? Did we? Did we?"

With her eyes closed, Beca chuckles and sits up. Then she looks at her ex, her eyes are still droopy when she mutters, "If you're asking did we sleep together, then yea, we slept together." When Ashley's eyes pop wider, the DJ hurriedly continues, "But if you're asking did we  _sleeeeep_ together, then we didn't. We literally just slept together, on the same bed. I just couldn't leave you after what happened last night without at least talking to you about it."

"Bu- bu- bu- but my clothes..." Ashley stutters frantically, pulling her own collar. "Same bed..." She motions her hand back and forth in between the two of them. "And we- we- we- we were facing each other... too close..."

"Relax." The DJ sounds lazy and still half asleep, flicking her middle fingers to get rid of the gunk in the corner of her eyes, wiping the drool by the corner of her lips. "I asked Donna to change your clothes after you threw up. And when I fell asleep, we were on the each side of the bed, with our back facing each other. It just... happened in our sleep. Sort of. I guess."

Everything is still hazy for Ashley, but she can breathe in relief.

"There're aspirins on the nightstand." Beca says as she gets off the bed. "Coffee?"

"Sure." The blonde replies and takes the meds immediately. After drinking one bottle of vitamin water and the aspirins, she feels more awake and sober, but she still can't recall anything from the previous night. She wants nothing else but asking about what happened last night, but her bladder is urging her to go to the bathroom. Therefore, the bathroom first.

"Where are you going?" The DJ asks as she puts the coffee blend into the coffee maker.

"Bathroom." Ashley proceeds walking into the bathroom.

"Oh." Beca glances at the clock.  _"Almost six. Huh. I barely slept for five hours, and I barely slept at all the night before, but I feel like I've slept enough,"_ and she smiles as she sighs contentedly.

Meanwhile, Ashley is taking her time to wash her tears tainted face and brush her teeth with a new toothbrush in the cabinet, getting rid of the mixture of whiskey and throwing up breath, and then she ties up her hair into a messy ponytail. After she comes back into the bedroom, she sits by the edge of the bed and asks, "What happened last night?"

Beca is waiting for the coffee by the pantry, butt leaned onto the counter, hands gripping the edge of the counter, lips pursed a bit in consideration before she asks, "What do you remember from last night?"

With her bottom lip in between her teeth, Ashley squeezes her eyes shut and thinks. Bits and pieces of memory start coming back into her mind in flashes. "I remember getting drunk at my house..." She shakes her head lightly. "And very angry... furious... I think... I think I might have called Adrian to ask where you were... And uh... took a cab..." She opens her eyes. "Then uh... I yelled at you?"

"Errr..." Beca looks at the blonde with a teasing curl playing by the corner of her lips, amused by how strangely cute her ex is even though with hangover hard thinking face. "You did. Yell at me. But I think we can agree that yelling is a bit understating. Roaring would be suffice."

"What did I roar about?" Ashley asks with her eyes narrowed while leaning her back onto the headboards and stretches her legs on the bed.

The DJ is pouring two cups of decaf coffee as she casually answers, "Just telling me what a jerk I am for singing you a song at MTV Awards, and what an asshole I am for writing Katy that song, and that I'm a heartless, mean, and cruel person to keep dragging you back even though I'm already married." Beca consciously skips the part where her ex confided that she's still in love with her.

Ashley scoffs, "You deserved much worse than that for what you did, ass."

Upon hearing that Ashley has come back to her usual blunt self, Beca looks at her, taken aback for a second, and then she laughs lightly before she says, "I certainly did. You did yell one hell of F words to me. I think in less than ten minutes, you managed to say the F word much many more times than you've ever done in your whole life. Combined."

"Glad that I did." The blonde says with a sharp glare and an eyebrow raised.

"And I'm sorry for that." Beca hands one cup to Ashley.

"Thanks." The blonde says before she takes a sip. "Hmh..." She moans in satisfaction. Apparently, her ex still remembers how she likes her coffee.

"You're welcome." Beca sits on the edge of the bed next to her ex's feet, holding up a cup with one hand. "How are you feeling?" asked before she takes a sip.

"Like my brain is trying to bang its way out of my skull." Ashley cringes her nose.

Beca chuckles lightly.

"And my pain is funny to you how?" The blonde asks in half-annoyance, trying yet failing to hide the pout in her lips. Truth to be told, there's a part of her that feels happy for talking with Beca in a casual term again.

Obviously, the feeling is mutual. The DJ sighs contentedly and smiles. "I'm just... this feels good you know, us talking casually again. The last time we talked was a bit intense, and it was more than two months ago. So... I'm glad that we can talk like this." She gives the blonde a teasing smirk. "Besides, it's kind of funny to see you're having a hangover. It's been awhile since I see you like this." Then she adds in her mind,  _"Not counting the one time before my wedding obviously."_

Ashley glares and playfully kicks the DJ's butt.

It certainly makes Beca's heart jumps to see how easily things go back to normal for them. She barks out a loud laughter and says, "I guess I also owe you an apology for being the reason of you getting drunk."

"You do." Ashley still seems annoyed, and pretty much starting to feel upset again. "I promised myself that I'd never get drunk over you anymore. But you just had to do that performance. And that wink? Seriously,  _Mrs._  Mitchell?"

The punctuation in the word  _Mrs._  is so obvious. "Who said that the wink was for you?" Beca deflects weakly without looking at her ex, opting to sip her coffee to hide the guilt on her face. "My wife was sitting behind you in the second row."

With a bored knowing look, Ashley retorts, "Then why don't you look me in the eye, and tell me that the wink was for your wife, and not for me?"

There's no way the DJ can lie to the blonde, and there's no way Ashley can't tell that she's lying either. Beca tries to play it cool by sipping her coffee slowly, but she can feel Ashley's sharp glare boring onto the side of her head. Therefore, still without looking at the blonde, the cup held near her lips, she mutters, "It was for you." Then she steals a quick glance at Ashley and sees how upset her ex is. So, she hurriedly adds, "But I didn't do it in purpose. It just... came out of nowhere. Automatically. I swear I didn't plan it at all."

"Yea, right." Ashley rolls her eyes in annoyance, voice sharp like a knife. "I'm sure you'll say the same thing about the songs too. You didn't plan to rearrange them, you didn't plan to rehearse them, you didn't plan to write them, you didn't plan to record them, you didn't plan to produce them, and poof, out of nowhere, JT and you just performed the song together, and Katy just sang the song on, the, spot. What a convenient coincidence for you."

"Ash..." The brunette smiles apologetically and rests one hand on the blonde's shin.

Upon feeling the electrical sensation from Beca's warm palm on her bare skin, Ashley jerks her leg to get away from the touch. It's not like she doesn't like it. It's the opposite. That simple touch raises a familiar warmth in the pit of her stomach, and she knows that soon, the very same feeling will reach her core.

Beca gets it though. Therefore, she pulls her hand back and clears her throat, looking flushed as she mutters, "Please let me explain."

Ashley huffs in annoyance but nods. She puts down the cup on the nightstand and crosses her arms on her chest though, showing that she won't easily trust the explanation.

After taking a deep breath, the DJ explains, "About the song I sang with JT, it was... well, we planned it when you and I broke up back in September. MTV asked me to perform, and Emily said that I should use it as a momentum..." Her voice then comes out in barely a whisper, hesitant to reveal the truth. "To tell you that I love you. To win your heart back." When she sees that Ashley is looking away, she clears her throat and tries to be cool when she continues, "And to dust the crowd anxiety off my shelf. When we broke up again, I was... well, the song still represented my feelings, and JT and I had already started the new arrangement. So, I went with it. Besides, I didn't want to seem unprofessional by changing course for a personal reason."

"And Katy's song?" The blonde retorts with hardened face, now looking straight into Beca's eyes.

Afraid that she might upset the blonde more, Beca can only mutters weakly, "And uh... about Katy's song. It was about her relationship with Mayer and Bloom. When she told me about it in late December... well, I felt the same. So, I wrote it down, and she wanted to perform that song."

"Disgusted?" The blonde raises her voice, pointing out a certain word in the lyric. "Really?"

"It wasn't the word I used." The DJ says defensively. "Katy changed it to fit how she felt. Honest. You can tell that I'm telling the truth, right? Some parts of the song is the truth. It was how I felt last year. Was. But I wouldn't use such word. As much as I felt... uncomfortable having sex with Chloe back then, there's no way I would feel disgusted by her. It was just odd, you know, having sex with someone who wasn't you. Since you know, you were the only one that I ever..."

Ashley looks at her sideways with pursed lips, considering if the DJ is telling the truth. Upon seeing the honest look, she sighs and nods, still looking half-annoyed, but not as annoyed as before.

Upon seeing the softened look on Ashley's face, Beca sighs in relief and says, "I'm sorry. What I did was still inappropriate. I'm married, and it's not okay to do that to you and Chloe. I promise I will not do that anymore."

Ashley loosens the closed off gesture and asks, "Do you mean it?"

"Very." Beca puts up her charming smile.

After staring into the DJ's eyes for a couple of seconds, the blonde feels heat raising under her cheeks and she rolls her eyes. She can't believe it's so easy for her to cave in.  _"It's just a smile, Ash. Stop blushing!"_  She scolds herself. Then she says with her lips slightly pouted, "Okay. You're forgiven. But only this one time. You do it again, and I'm gonna smack your head until you fall into a coma again."

It's odd, but seeing the pouting lips and getting scold by her ex bring such a joy for Beca. She's giddy from the ticklish sensation in the pit of her stomach. She says nothing in return but simply grinning goofily.

The look on Beca's face somehow flutters Ashley's heart even more. She picks up the cup again and sips her coffee to cover it before she asks, "So, how's marriage life so far, Mrs. Mitchell?"

Beca grins, bouncing on the bed a bit and automatically, heartfully exclaims, "It's fucking awesome! Chloe's pregnant, and I couldn't be happier!"

A hard pang strikes across the blonde's chest upon seeing how happy her ex is with someone else, and somehow she feels heated under her skin in a not good kind of way. She has heard about Chloe's unreasonable requests, but she hasn't heard about the pregnancy until now. Nevertheless, she puts on a smile and says, "Good for you."

"I just..." The DJ sighs heavily with her face down and chews her bottom lip in hesitation before she glances up at the blonde and mutters, "Well, I'm as happy as I could be, Ash. But uh... last night... we uh... we hugged."

"Oh." Ashley responds with puzzled look. "I'm sorry?"

"No, I didn't tell you that to make you feel bad. You were intoxicated, and I hugged you first. I uh..." Beca shakes her head and runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Tsk... I just... when I had you in my arms, and right now, talking to you, having you with me, near me... I feel..." She stares at Ashley with glimmering hopeful look. "I feel complete, Ash. So... can we please be friends?"

Seeing the spark of hope in Beca eyes is a bit overwhelming, and Ashley has to close her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm her twitching heart. It's not like she doesn't feel the same, but being friends with her ex is just too much to deal with right now, especially after seeing that the black carbide ring is still on Beca's finger. Therefore, she scratches her right eyebrow with her little finger and mutters, "I... I don't know, Moz. Maybe. I just..." She huffs out a long steady breath through her mouth in exasperation. "I'm still on my way to picking up the pieces. I won't be able to do that if I have to see you with... someone else, having a life we could've had."

"What about after you're already done with picking up the pieces?" The DJ pleads, a weak hopeful smile and wrinkled forehead are mixed on her face.

Ashley takes a moment to stare into Beca's eyes. Five seconds later, she sighs in resignation and says, "Just give me time to think about it."

"Of course." The DJ says hurriedly with a wider grin. "Take as much time as you need." Then she smirks. "But just so you know, I'll keep trying. And I know you'll relent in the end. You can't resist this needy nerdy little me."

God, how she loves cocky Beca. Ashley rolls her eyes in half-annoyance for the umpteenth times, trying so hard to bite back a smile when she retorts, "Since when did you become this smug?"

"Since I found out what I wanted in my life years ago." Beca replies smugly without any hesitation, but then the smirk turns into a fond smile when she softly continues, "I can't imagine life without you, Ash. And I hope I don't have to."

Even though her heart is beating so fast and she feels like she can explode from the roaring joy in her chest, Ashley holds back the scream and simply rolls her eyes again.

It only makes the DJ grin even more goofily, because Ashley can pretend to seem annoyed as hard as she might, but Beca can see right through her.

"Hey." Beca suddenly seems so excited again. "Do you uh... want to see my baby's ultrasound?"

Upon seeing how bright her ex's childlike grin is, Ashley smiles and nods. "Sure."

"Wait a second." The DJ puts down her cup and rushes her way, marching into the office to take her wallet. Then she comes back into the bedroom in flash and plops onto the bed next to Ashley. She opens her wallet and pulls out the picture. "Here she is."

Ashley's taken aback when she accidentally sees the picture of them on the night Beca asked her to be a girlfriend. She knew the DJ always carried that picture in the wallet. She just never thought that Beca still carries it after they broke up. Since the brunette doesn't seem to notice that she has seen the picture, Ashley doesn't say anything about it.

The excitement coming from the brunette who's grinning at the picture is contagious. A soft  _aw_ almost escapes from Ashley's lips, but she bites her bottom lip to prevent it and diverts her eyes from Beca to the picture. "She got your nose."

Beca barks out a loud laughter and says, "She's only a tiny blop right now. Not to mention that she's not mine biologically."

"Well, a woman can hope." Ashley shrugs nonchalantly. Seeing how fondly Beca is staring at the picture makes her heart swell. She smiles fondly and softly says, "Biologically yours or not, you'll be an amazing mother, Mozzie."

"You think so?" The DJ looks at her with a childlike grin, eyes wide and sparkling.

With a look that says  _duh_ , Ashley chuckles and says, "I know so. I've seen how great you are with Steve and Baby Belle. I have no doubt that you'll be amazing as a mother, and you shouldn't doubt yourself too."

"Thanks!" Beca grins smugly, puffing her nose with her chin up like a child who just got a pat on the head. "I named her Peanut Munchkin Mitchell."

"Peanut Munchkin?" Ashley asks with a comical look. "Really?"

Beca nods excitedly, still with the same childlike grin on her face.

Then Ashley throws her head back, laughing whole-heartily.

Upon seeing her favorite laughter, Beca's breath hitches for a second, but her grin turns into a fond smile as she sigh contentedly.  _"God, she's so breathtaking."_ She just can't help herself, and she reaches out her hand to trace the dimple on Ashley's cheek gently with her thumb. "You're so beautiful, I love you." She blurts out automatically yet also ever so softly.

Ashley is stunned, her brain is short circuited, but her heart is pacing faster. It's only getting worse when she catches Beca's eyes flicker down to her lips, and she automatically looks at the hers too. Ashley can see that Beca is leaning closer ever so slowly. However, the blonde herself is completely frozen up. She can hear her heartbeat banging in her ears though, loud and clear.

Meanwhile, the DJ is already resting one hand on Ashley's cheek, leaning in so naturally without processing the fact that she's married to someone else. Her face is getting closer to Ashley's, and she can feel the blonde's warm minty breath on her lips. Although, as much as she loves Ashley's baby breath smelled like breath in the morning, she is too focused on looking deeply into Ashley's bright blue eyes.

As Ashley's eyelids automatically flutter down before their lips meet, Beca's phone rings from the office. Their tight bubble is popped, and both are awaken from the daze so abruptly; the DJ pulls herself back immediately like she gets slapped back into reality, and Ashley feels like a bucket of cold water just rained on her.

Without saying anything, the brunette stumbles her feet out of the bedroom into the office to pick up her phone.

"Donna."

Ashley can hear her ex's shaky voice.

"She's fine. And yea, we're still in the office."

After gathering back her senses, the blonde hurriedly changes back into her dress and slips her feet into her shoes. When she walks out of the bedroom, Beca asks her, "Where are you going?"

Looking nervous and upset, Ashley paces her way to the door and mutters, "I better get going."

"Donna, I have to call you back." Beca ends the phone call and hurriedly chases her ex. She holds Ashley back by the elbow. "I'm sorry for what I did. Can we please talk about it?"

Without turning around or stopping, Ashley pulls her arm back and sharply says, "There's nothing to talk about. It was a moment of weakness from both of us."

"Then let me take you home." The DJ insists, pacing her slightly shorter feet to level with the blonde.

"I can take a cab." Ashley steps out of the brunette's office, picking up her pace. "I don't want us to get caught up in the moment,  _again_ , and make a mistake,  _again_."

"No." The DJ follows her ex closely from behind. It's in the time like this she's so thankful that Ashley had pushed her to exercise regularly. "It won't happen again, Ash. Promise. Just let me take you home."

"It's not necessary, Becs." Ashley says firmly without stopping.

Beca grabs her wrist tightly to stop her on her track. "Ash, just stop for a second and listen to me."

Ashley rolls her eyes and sighs deeply as she turns around. "What?"

"Look. When I said I love you, I didn't mean it." Beca rolls her eyes because she's frustrated with herself, but she keeps on rambling, "I mean, I meant it. But I didn't intend to just blurt it out like that. I shouldn't have."

"Well, I don't want you to mean it!" Ashley snaps, yanking her hand back.

"But I did!" Beca snaps back, but then she takes a deep breath and continues with softened voice. "I did mean it, and I'm not gonna lie to you about it. I've done enough lying to my wife. You said so yourself; we can't stop ourselves from loving who we love. And I love you. As much as I love Chloe, I still love you. You're still the love of my life."

Ashley is frustrated in between happy and upset, and she flaunts her hands as she exclaims desperately, "But you can't use it as an excuse to kiss me, Moz!"

"I didn't plan it, Ash..." Beca is just as desperate. "I swear. I just... looked at you laughing, and I didn't think about it, I didn't even realize that I'd been leaning closer. And I'm sorry, okay?" She sighs heavily and stares at her ex with pleading look. "But we were having such a great time. So, can we please start over? Just let me take you home, and I promise I won't even lay my eyes on you in the car."

Even though she's upset and annoyed, Ashley is still a goner when Beca is showing that childlike pleading look. She closes her eyes and sighs heavily. "Fine." She bites with the sharpest tone she can muster over her flipping stomach. "But not even a peek, Mrs. Mitchell."

Beca smiles in relief and nods. "Not even a peek."

"And no touching either."

Beca instantly holds her hands up in front of her chest in a surrendering manner. "No touching either."

"Okay."

Then the two of them walk to the parking floor and get into the brunette's car. On the way to the mansion, nobody says anything. Beca doesn't even turn the radio on. They're in a complete yet so not comfortable silence. The DJ is trying hard not to steal a glance but can only manage to stop herself by the corner of her eyes, and Ashley is playing back everything that just happened at the office.

When they arrive at the mansion's front yard, Ashley doesn't get off the car immediately. Instead, she keeps staring down at the dashboard with a sad yet determined look.

Beca has become antsy to see that look, the same look she saw on the night Ashley broke up with her for kissing Chloe. She tries to calm her nerves, but her fidgeting fingers gives her away, and her bottom lip is most likely pierced for getting chewed. The one thing that can end this stomach churning tension is by parting their ways. Therefore, she swallows hard and weakly says, "Ash, we're here."

Without turning her head, Ashley simply holds up one hand, signing for the brunette to wait, silently telling her that she's still contemplating, still thinking, still making up her mind.

Even though she complies by turning off the engine, Beca keeps chewing her bottom lip, dreaded by what's about to come.

After making up her mind, Ashley looks up and takes a deep breath, staring blankly at the mansion through the windshield before she says, "Listen, Moz. I think the idea of us being friends isn't a good thing. You're married to Chloe, but... but you said you love me, and you almost kissed me earlier... If it wasn't for Donna's phone call... who knows what would've happened? I just... I'm not a home wrecker, and I don't want to be one."

It feels like something heavy just dropped into her stomach. "Don't." Beca says with pleading look. "Please don't make any decisions now. You're upset right now. I get it. I almost kissed you earlier. The moment was... I screwed up, okay? But I won't do that again. Promise."

"Still..." Ashley sighs in desperation. "With our history, we need to put some distance between us, Moz. Or we'll hurt each other and your wife."

"No, please don't." Beca insists stubbornly. "Don't use Chloe as an excuse, as an easy way out like you did when we broke up. I know it's not gonna be easy to be friends after everything, but I meant it when I said I can't imagine life without you. Since the beginning of our relationship, you were not only my girlfriend. We started as friends, and we've been best friends in more than six years. So, even though we're not together anymore, I hope that we can stay friends. And you said you needed time to think. I'll give you that. As much as you want. Just don't tell me you don't want to be my friend right now only because I did something stupid. It feels finals, and it's like you don't want to be involved in my life."

Knowing that Beca is showing the undeniable pleading look, Ashley can't even bring herself to look at her when she sadly says with a bitter smile, "I've given it a thought, and I don't think I can ever be your friend, Moz." She closes her eyes and sighs dejectedly. "We couldn't even keep our eyes and our hands off of each other for more than a minute every time we're in the same room. And we can't count Chloe out of this. We both know your wife won't be pleased if she ever finds out that we remain friends. I mean, with the black ring and I bet the tattoo of my initials is still on your left chest... I just think... please don't put us, all three of us in a hard situation."

"Ash..." The DJ pleads. She wants to do nothing else but to hold the blonde's hand, to reassure her not only with words, but with close affection because she knows that there's a part of Ashley that wants the same thing. However, she's promised that she wouldn't, and she doesn't want to give Ashley more reason to deny her plea. "I just..." She runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. "I miss you. All the time. And I realized it when I held you last night. It felt right, and just... right."

"You'll get over it." Ashley says with determination, but her eyes are still staring blankly at the mansion. "You're someone's wife, Becs... And soon, you'll become a mother. You said you've never been this happy in your life. So, instead of wasting your time trying to befriend me, you should focus on being happy with your little family. "

It's like the DJ's running out of options, and she has become panic. She swallows hard and frantically stutters, "Look. I- I- I- I'm not gonna lie to you. I love Chloe, I'm falling for her, and the fact that she's pregnant makes me happier than ever. But you need to know that..." Her breath hitches for a second from anticipation. "That me being happy for having a family with Chloe, and me feeling complete for having you in my life are two different things."

Feeling disbelieved and upset, Ashley turns to look at her ex and scoffs. "And now I also know that you want to have both."

"I- but- it's-" Beca is out of words.

"You know well that we can't have everything we want." Ashley raises her voice. "We've made a decision, Becs.  _You_ , made a decision."

Beca knows how determined Ashley could be. However, she herself isn't one who'd back down without a fight. Not this time, not when she has come so close to having everything she's ever wanted in her life. "You've put a thousand pieces of puzzle into a one big picture, right?"

Confused of the sudden change of topic, the blonde looks at her ex with her eyebrows furrowed. "Yea?"

"Then you know how it feels like when..." Beca huffs in frustration and scratches the back of her ear. "When you only need one last single centerpiece to complete it, but you lost it. You've practically figured out the whole picture, but it will never be completed. Always, only,  _almost,_  complete. Damn near perfect, but you know it's never gonna be. Over times, you got used to it. It feels okay until you put the lost centerpiece back and all of the sudden, you feel confused of how you could ever feel okay at all before. For me, losing you feels that way. You are... you're a single centerpiece that can complete my life, Ash."

Ashley lets out a dry chuckle and retorts, "You lost one single centerpiece out of one thousand to complete your life?" Then she snaps. "Well, I lost the other 999 pieces! What do you think how I feel?! You have a wife, and soon you'll have a kid for God's sake! And here you are, complaining about a single stupid lost piece, when you've already figured out the whole picture! And you're willing to risk ruining the other 999 pieces just for this stupid one? To upset your pregnant wife, complicate your marriage just to be friend with your ex? This is exactly why I should be out of your life! You shouldn't be torn in between Chloe and I!"

From getting yelled at, anger also flares up in Beca's chest. "I am not fucking torn!" She snaps back, slamming her left fist onto the steering wheel. "Do you want to know why I couldn't take off this ring?!" She flaunts up her left hand. "Because the last time someone took it off, I had a fucking night terror! That's how fucked up I am without you! For losing you! And you didn't come! You knew, but you didn't come when I needed you! So, I'm doing this, fucking chasing you, just like I always did, begging you to be my friend, it's because I fucking know what I fucking want and need in my fucking life! This isn't me being fucking torn! This is the least of being torn! This is me being fucking determined!"

"But I don't want you in my life!" Ashley spats back with hoarse voice, not quite sure if she's lying or not about what she just said. She knows that the next thing she's about to say is a point blank lie though, but the words keep on falling out of her lips effortlessly while tears are glistening her bright blue eyes. "I'm tired of every complications for having you in my life! That's why I didn't come! I don't care about you anymore!"

Beca automatically curls back a bit as if a bullet's just shot right through her chest, and she wraps herself tightly as if she's about to crack into pieces. The hard pang in her chest and the sting in her eyes, it makes her face scrunch up tightly. Painful can't even convey how hurt she's feeling right now. Even though Ashley said a similar thing last night, but this time, she's sober, and it feels so much truer for Beca. However, she refuses to believe that it's true. "You're lying."

Those two words, Ashley almost can't hear them since it's so brokenly whispered. However, she says nothing in return but squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her hands to hold the aching agonizing pain in her chest.

"Tell me that you just lie to me, Ash... You still keep my handkerchief... You still care... Tell me... tell me that you still care, please..."

The voice is so small, pleading, but hearing how broken it is gives more effect in crumbling Ashley's defense. Nevertheless, she opens her eyes and shots them straight into Beca's steely blue ones. Her heart is in her throat, and she has to swallow it down only to say with the least shaky voice she can muster, "I don't. I'm not lying. I've told you... I keep that handkerchief because I only have one... It's not my fault if you read more than I said... So, I'm gonna tell you the truth. Having you in my life took so much of my time and energy, it sucked the life out of me... I've had enough of you... enough of you stringing my heart along... enough of you pulling me back and forth... I'm sick of riding this roller coaster with you... So, breaking up with you is probably the best thing that could ever happen to me."

Is she still breathing? Beca isn't sure. All she knows is every single fiber of her being is throbbing in pain. Thumping heart, pounding head, pulsing veins, stinging eyes, ringing ears, heavy ragged heaving chest, clenched hands; she's overwhelmed because everything hurts. The tension, the anger, the sadness, the panic, all of them mixed into one, and it suffocates her, choking her, ripping her apart, and she's shaking. She presses her hands onto her temple so hard, her eyes shut tightly. All she wants is to explode, yelling and throwing stuff to get it all out of her system.

Upon seeing how much pain she inflicted, Ashley has to look away. She refuses to look at her ex because it's too hard to bear. She can feel it though, and she's sure that Beca can feel it too, the thick air, fury, fuming like a ticking bomb. For Ashley, maybe this should end like this, end with Beca hating her. Maybe it'll be easier for the two of them to deal with if Beca thinks that she doesn't care about her anymore.

On the other hand, Beca knows that Ashley is just as hurt. She knows that her ex is trying to push her away. It's nothing new because she herself used to do the same thing. She also knows that yelling and throwing stuff won't help her in this case. There's only one way to be sure if Ashley's lying. Therefore, she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly to calm her nerves, and then repeat. After her boiling blood cools down, after she's able to swallow the hurt, after her shaky breaths turn into steady ones, after she's able to feel like she's breathing again, the brunette opens her yes to look at her ex and helplessly calls, "Ash... please look at me..."

For a split second, the blonde is stunned by the unexpected reaction. No yelling? That's odd. Beca usually yells when she's angry or sad.  _"No, God no."_  This isn't a good sign. A sign that she would relent for seeing how vulnerable Beca is, and she can't break now; she shouldn't. Therefore, Ashley just shakes her head without looking at the brunette.

"Ashley..." The DJ rests one hand on the blonde's knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Please..."

" _Oh, who am I kidding?"_ With defeated look, Ashley exhales tiredly and turns to look at her ex. Seeing the tears in Beca's pleading eyes cracks more of Ashley's stone heart at the moment.  _"Damnit!"_ She's upset with herself now.

A subtle relieved smile appears on Beca's sad face, and then she leans forward, inching closer to the blonde's face. "Don't move."

Ashley automatically pulls back. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just stay still, okay?" Beca pleads with ragged breaths, still looking helpless. "I'm not gonna kiss you. Trust me on this. I just... Please, just stay still..."

As much as she doesn't like the idea, Ashley trusts Beca. She always has, and truth to be told, she's craving to be close to her ex. Therefore, she huffs out a long shaky breath and closes her eyes as she leans closer. A couple of seconds later, she can feel Beca's forehead on hers, and the brunette's warm breaths on her lips. Then Beca grabs her hand gently and puts it on her own left chest.

Their eyes are closed, but their other senses become sharper. The pulse on their touched foreheads, their warm melted damp breaths, the sound of them breathing, it wraps them in a thick bubble, keeps them safe from anything else that doesn't come from both of them. Everything becomes so quiet, and only the sound of them breathing can be heard.

Having the brunette so close, her hand under Beca's warm one, feeling the brunette's heartbeat thumping on her palm, joining her own heartbeat vibrating to the tip of her fingers, how contented it makes her feel, Ashley can't help herself but shivering, and tears finally fall effortlessly down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Beca is feeling the same; contented. Just with a simple gesture, and she knows that Ashley didn't mean what she said earlier. It has always been like this with Ashley. Steady, solid, no matter how bad the thunderstorm she's having. Cautiously, the DJ rests her hands on each side of her ex's jaw, the tip of her fingers on the nape of Ashley's neck.

Ashley stirs from the electrical sensation, but she doesn't pull away.

Upon not getting any rejections, Beca is relieved, and she swallows hard before she asks in barely a whisper, "Can you feel that?"

Ashley nods very lightly.

"It feels so fine and right... right?" whispered the brunette with a light hopeful smile.

Ashley doesn't know why, the more fine she feels around the DJ, the sadder she becomes, and her chest starts to rumble. Still with her forehead on the brunette's, she cries, "But it's not right to feel fine and right about this... We shouldn't let ourselves feel this way, Becs... Not anymore..."

"I... I need you in my life, Ash." Beca pleads, voice so soft and shaky, but it sounds so loud in their tight bubble. "I'm not asking you to have an affair with me... I don't plan to, I won't cheat on my wife, and I won't do that to you. Ever again. I- I- I promise. I'm just asking you to be my friend. To be there in one of the most important parts of my life. That's all. Because you're the other piece that could make my life whole again. So please, please don't run away from me... Stay in my life, Ash..."

Upon hearing how broken Beca is, Ashley's heart is shattered into millions of pieces. Then she whispers in despair, tears are still streaming down her face, "Why are you doing this to me, Moz? Why?"

A bitter smile appears on the DJ's face, and then she retorts, "Isn't it obvious?" It's their mutual answer since the beginning or their relationship. Ashley even said that instead of  _yes_  when she proposed.

For a split second, Ashley almost can't help herself from hugging and kissing the brunette she loves the most. Kiss her until they're out of breath, kiss her until all of the pain goes away, kiss her until she forgets about everything else but the love they share. It takes everything in her and then some to hold herself back, and she pulls away. She mourns for the loss of contact, and from the look of it, Beca is feeling the same. It just reassures her that being friend with the ex that she's still in love with won't work. Therefore, she takes a moment to take several deep breaths and wipe the tears on her cheek. After blowing out a ragged breath through her mouth, she says with the strongest voice she can muster, "I can't."

"Ashley... Bee..." Beca is on the verge of crying now, even using the pet name to hammer Ashley's stone heart. "Don't leave me again... I've done what you asked. I- I- I did the right thing. And you were right. It is the right thing to do. But I need you to meet me halfway right now."

Upon seeing how miserable the DJ is, Ashley's face scrunched up painfully, her stomach pulled in from the lack of air, and she desperately gasps for air through her mouth before she says with shaky voice, "I- I know that I was the one who pushed you back to Chloe in the first place. And I'm sorry to put you in a hard situation. But... but it doesn't mean that it was easy for me to let you go, Becs; that I wasn't hurt to do so; that I wasn't brokenhearted. And right now, I just... Knowing where we've been, and what we could've been... I can't be  _just_  your friend."

With her shoulders slumped, Beca turns to look forward and grasps the top of her head tightly with both hands, her arms rested onto the steering wheel. Then she mutters with her eyes closed, "I'm sorry. I know I'm being beyond selfish right now. I just..." Her voice comes out in barely a whisper through her trembling lips. "I- I've told you years ago, Ash. Having you in my life... it feels like..." She lets out a damp chuckle. "It's like gasping the first air after staying too long under the water. That's how I've been feeling since last night. So, please... please... We don't have to be friends right away. Just... take your time. Please..."

It's painful to deny the request, but Ashley also knows that she'll be more hurt in the end if she agrees. "I can't." She says with restraint voice. "There's this... quote Ashley Marin said in PLL that I can finally understand in this moment." A single track of tears falls freely down her face, and she wipes it instantly. "People get hurt and disappointed in relationships every day, but no one should jump into one with that intention... ... For me, being friends with you will only hurt me, and I can't let myself being hurt more than I already am, Becs. So... I'm sorry. I just can't." Feeling that her last string of self control is almost ripped, she opens the car door and swifts her way out. "Thank you for the ride. Drive safely to your place."

"Ash, listen to-" The DJ pleads, but Ashley has gotten out of the car and shut the door.

"Damnit!" Beca slams her hands onto the steering wheel so hard, and then she drops her forehead onto her knuckles on the wheel. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Mitchell?!" She snaps sharply under her breath. "You were doing great with her earlier, but you just had to do something stupid to screw up everything good in your life. Every, fucking, time!"

Even after ten minutes later, the DJ hasn't gone yet. She's still regretting her sudden impulse to do what she did that cost her a chance to be friend with Ashley, considering if she should go into the mansion to reassure Ashley. Suddenly, her phone rings, and she picks up without looking at the caller ID. "What?!" She bites.

" _You said you'd call me back."_

It's Donna. Beca sighs heavily and mutters, "I'm sorry. Kind of busy blaming my stupid self right now."

" _What did you do?"_

"I'll tell you later. I've got to go."

_"Monk-"_

Beca cuts off the line, throws her phone to the empty seat next to her, and starts the engine. After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, the DJ drives back home to Chloe.

On the way, she buys her wife a bouquet of flowers. She's committed to make a habit out of it, and this time is special. It's a silent way to compensate her guilty feeling. It's a  _I'm sorry I lied to you, and I slept with my ex on the same bed last night_. kind of flowers. Well, it's too much of a burden to put on a bouquet of flowers, but she doesn't know what else to do to ease her guilty feeling.

After getting the flowers, she decides to call her best friend from the car line to spill her gut. Patrick listens to her quietly until she's done telling her stupidity.

" _Dude..."_ Patrick's tone sounds like a tired warning.  _"How could you... Why did you... Aren't your wife pregnant? Why would you do this to yourself, to your wife, and to Ashley?"_

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Beca bites sarcastically. "I clearly didn't know that." Then she hears long sighing from the other side, and she tunes down her voice a notch. "I'm sorry, I'm just... After everything we've been through together, I just want us to stay friends. Why is it so hard for her to understand?"

_"Isn't this what you talked about with Harley? To stop trying to get the rocher you lost?"_

Beca is taken aback for a second, but she recovers rather quickly with a rationalization, "It's different, dude. Back then, we were talking about me wanting to get Ashley back as a girlfriend, talking about me regretting my decision to stay with Chloe, which was a lost cause. This is me wanting to stay friends with her. And I don't regret staying with Chloe. I'm honestly happy."

_"I don't get it. Why would you need Ashley if you're already honestly happy?"_

"Just because. It's just because, dude. It feels right to have her in my life. She puts the right in my life."

Beca can almost feel Patrick rolling his eyes before he says, _"Just give her some time to think about it, dude."_

"But she told me that she had given it a thought." Beca is sure that she sounds so desperate, but she just can't bring herself to care at all. "You know how she is when she's being so determined and stubborn. She said she doesn't want to be my friend, dude. She said it would only hurt her in the end."

" _And you're telling me that you still want to push her to be your friend even though it'll hurt her?"_ Patrick has raised his voice.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Beca snaps defensively. "She pushed me to do the right thing, and I fucking did! And now it's her turn to do right by me!"

_"Do right by you? Are you fucking kidding me? Just stop hurting her, Beca! This is you being fucking selfish! And you need to stop!"_

"And she wasn't selfish for pushing me back to Chloe in the first place?!"

_"But you ended up happy anyway! You said so yourself, asshole! You decided to man up to marry Chloe, and now you're fucking, honestly, happy! But Ashley's not! She's fucking miserable! And she deserves much better than this!"_

Beca is stunned again, and her breath hitches, but she lets it out, deep and long as she rubs her face with one hand. "Dude..." She's almost begging now. "I know I screwed up, but you know I love her, man... I love her, and I need her in my life... Ju- just tell me how to fix this, how to show her that I've learnt my lesson, that I won't do stupid thing like almost kissing her again, to reassure her that I need a friend in her."

_"I hate to break it to you, dude."_ Patrick sounds sympathetic now.  _"But from what you've told me, I don't think she needs a friend in you."_

"But she does." Beca debates stubbornly. "I know she feels the same. And she told me when she was drunk, she said she can't live without me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be pushing this hard. She was just upset, and she chose the easy way out."

Another long tired sigh coming from her best friend.  _"Then let her cool down. Just give her time to move on first. You'll have time to talk to her again when we're preparing the wedding."_

Feeling a bit relieved, Beca sighs heavily and weakly retorts, "You think so? Don't you think she'll back out from being Troian's maid of honor?"

_"You know well that she's not that kind of person. Just give her some space to wrap her head around the situation. I mean, you just got married, but you're already expecting. It must be hard on her."_

Beca lets out another long deep sigh. A part of her feels a bit relieved for finding out that she'll have a chance to talk to Ashley again, to convince her. "Okay. You're right. Yea. She'll come around after she cools down, right?"

_"I hope so."_

"She just needs time, and time I will give." The DJ says more to herself. "I'll talk to her again when we're preparing your wedding."

_"Yea, you do that. But make sure you don't upset my bride in the way. I don't want Troian to go bridezilla at me for keeping you as my best man after what you did today. And just so you know, I won't be there when Troian and Emily tear you apart."_

"When? Not if?"

_"Definitely when. Unless Ashley decides not to tell your kid, because she hates it to put Emily in between the two of you. But she'll definitely tell Troian. On second thought, I will be there when Troian tear you apart. I just won't stand in between. I'll just watch with a bowl of popcorn on my laps."_

Beca laughs weakly, and Patrick follows suit. "I'll let you watch then. Sorry for snapping at you, dude."

_"You better be."_

Another light laughter erupts from the DJ, and then she says, "I am. Thanks, man. You just proved that keeping you around has some advantages."

He scoffs, but the smugness in his voice is obvious when he says, " _Told you, asshole."_

"You did. Got to go. Thanks for the talk. See you around, jackass."

" _Yea, see you around."_

After ending the phone call, Beca huffs out a long steady breath, trying to let out all of her worries and nerves. "Don't screw up again, Mitchell." She warns herself. "Don't ever do stupid things again. Ashley deserves much better than this from you. Chloe deserves much better than this from you."

* * *

When Beca arrives at her home, she's confused for not finding her wife in the kitchen. Usually, Chloe would've been making breakfast by now. Therefore, she hurriedly goes into their bedroom in the second floor.

Apparently, Chloe is still sleeping. It confuses the brunette even more. She puts the flowers on the nightstand and circles around to sit on the edge of the bed near the redhead. "Chlo?" She strokes her wife's head gently.

"Hm?" Chloe responds weakly.

"Why aren't you getting ready for work?" The DJ asks worriedly.

"I've been throwing up since four this morning." The redhead mumbles.

Beca immediately puts the back of her hand on her wife's forehead, then move to press the side of her neck, and it's cold. "Why didn't you call me?"

A weak smile appears on the redhead's face as she says, "I thought you'd still be sleeping. I didn't want to bother you because you must have worked late last night. Besides, it's normal to have morning sickness, Babe. I can't just call you every time I throw up."

Beca hasn't fully recovered from the guilt of hurting Ashley yet, and now she's getting hit by another guilty feeling for leaving her pregnant wife being sick alone. She clenches her hands and jaw, face hardened, almost chokes on her own hitched breath. However, she flexes her neck to brush the feeling away and swallows down the lump. "You should've called me." The DJ says weakly in regret. "Next time, you have to call me if you feel even slightly uncomfortable."

Chloe smiles and softly says, "I will, overprotective wife."

With an apologetic smile, Beca leans down to kiss her wife's lips, and then she kisses Chloe's stomach gently. "Don't give mommy too much trouble. Okay, Peanut?"

Chloe chuckles and mocks a high pitched cartoon voice, "Peanut thinks Mommy must be hungry, Mama. Please feed her."

The magical power of Beca whisperer. It's so cute, and the DJ can't help herself from barking out a loud laughter. The heavy feeling is pushed out of her system, and then she shakes her head, smiling lightly as she says, "I'll call a delivery. How about chicken soup for my wife and my baby?"

"Sounds good."

As the DJ gets off the bed, Chloe holds her back by the hand and frowns, "Stay with me."

Beca smiles. "Okay." Then she lies on the bed and dials a restaurant.

While the DJ is ordering their breakfast, Chloe nuzzles her nose into the crook of her wife's neck and pulls a deep breath of her wife's warm embrace. The Beca she married to smells different from the Beca she knew back in college. The young brunette smelled a lot like a newborn baby, and she didn't like wearing any perfume because she hated sharp sweet scent. The adult brunette has three distinguished scents. She still has the soft newborn baby scent, but it's mixed with a musk scented perfume. It's not a sweet kind of perfume, but more masculine yet also light in the nose. Then there's a little bit of coconut scent. There was also the fourth soft scent that Chloe couldn't pin point what it was, and it was all over the brunette's clothes and Bali sarong in the beginning of their relationship. However, this undecipherable scent had already gone since a few months ago.

In the last six months they've been together, Chloe has grown to love, to find comfort in Beca's new scent so easily. That was the reason she started using coconut scented shampoo, because she loved how it smelled on the brunette, and it turned out to be a perfect mixture with her own vanilla scented perfume. She remembers it well on her 24th birthday, Beca gave her a bottle of vanilla perfume. Since then, she has never changed the brand of her perfume, knowing that Beca loved that particular soft scent on her back in college.

The longer they're together, the more she could feel how both of their scents have melted into one, filling in the penthouse, the bedroom, and now their house. Now that she thinks about it, she didn't actually notice when Beca started to smell a little bit like her. It feels like the brunette has always smelled like that, and it brings a smile to her face. When the phone call ends, she snuggles closer, smiling with her eyes closed as she says, "You smell like me, and I like it."

Beca just realizes that she hasn't changed into another clothes yet. She herself isn't sure if it's Chloe's or Ashley's scent on her skin since both women have similar scents.  _"Most likely Chloe's, right?"_ She tries to reassure herself.  _"I barely touched Ashley at all last night, and I've been sleeping with Chloe for months."_ She lifts up her collar over her nose and pulls in a deep breath.  _"No Ashley's natural scent."_ From that conclusion, she chuckles lightly and teases, "Of course I smell like you. We've been sleeping together for months. I think it's safe to say that everybody can smell you on me, wife."

There it is again, the easy sweet talking that makes her feel like having thousands of butterflies flipping their wings in her stomach, and it brings warmth into Chloe's chest.  _"_ _ **Everybody can smell you on me, wife**_ _. It sounds nice. My wife smells like me. My wife. My, wife."_ With a light chuckle, she sighs contentedly and brushes her nose under the brunette's jaw before pressing her lips on it.

"Do you want to watch some movies?"

"La La Land."

"Again?" Beca asks comically, but she turns on the TV and chooses the movie with a voice command.

While the film is playing, Beca remains silent, left arm holding her wife tightly, and right arm on her own forehead. Her eyebrows wrinkled deeply and her lips frowned into a thin line, eyes staring at nothing at the ceiling. She's thinking, mulling over everything. Pushing Ashley to become her friend, leaving her pregnant wife alone, how to tell her wife that she wants to stay friend with her ex, that she's frustrated in this situation, as a matter of fact, how to tell just anything to her wife without conveying the hugest secret in their marriage. Can she stand not telling Chloe anything at all? Can a marriage survive without communicating what one's feeling?

Twenty minutes into the movie, Chloe suddenly says, "I'll never get tired of this movie." But she gets nothing in return. Therefore, she pulls back slightly so she can look at her wife's face. Just like the other night, the strange feeling comes back. The troubling feeling in the pit of her stomach of not knowing, cannot telling what her wife's thinking or feeling. This is bothersome for Chloe. So bothering. Doesn't want to seem pushy, she bites Beca's chin playfully.

"Aw!" The DJ yelps, pulled out of her train of thought.

"Hey, what's bothering you?"

A smile appears, and Beca automatically replies, "Nothing."

"Must be something." Chloe says with concerned look. "You can tell me, Babe."

"I'm just..." The brunette sigh heavily, looking sorry and resigned. "I'm sorry. Truly sorry." She means she's sorry for a lot of things; leaving her alone, lying to her, winking at Ashley, sleeping on the same bed with Ashley, almost kissing Ashley.

Chloe thinks that it must be about her not coming home last night. She smiles understandingly and strokes her head gently. "Baby, you don't have to beat yourself up. I'm okay, Peanut is okay, and you're here now."

A huge rush of relief slips into Beca's mind.  _"God, she's so kind. What do I do to deserve her?"_ She thinks to herself, chest rumbled with warmth, moved by how loving her wife is. A smile naturally appears on her face, and she leans upward to kiss her wife's forehead gently. Suddenly, the bell rings. "Let me grab our breakfast." The brunette untangles herself from the redhead.

"Make it quick."

"I will." Beca goes to get and prepare the food hurriedly. Then she walks back into the bedroom and sits next to the redhead. "Breakfast's here."

"Hm." The redhead sits up and leans her back onto the headboards. She just realizes that there's a bouquet of flowers on the nightstand over her wife's side. "You bought me flowers again?"

"Yea." The DJ holds up a spoonful of chicken broth, blowing it before pushing it in front of Chloe's mouth.

Chloe opens her mouth and takes a whole gulp of it. Then she says, "You're too sweet, Babe. But you don't have to do it every day. Seriously, you're wasting your money."

"Money isn't a problem." The DJ shrugs nonchalantly, and then she feeds her wife again. "Have you called the school?"

Chloe nods and swallows her food before she says, "Yep. I told them I'm having a flu."

"Okay." Beca smiles in relief. She's not ready to deal with the media and paparazzi about the marriage and pregnancy yet. "I'll stay with you today. Just let me call Donna and take a shower after breakfast."

With her face lighten up, Chloe coos, "Call Donna, but don't take a shower please. I love smelling me on you."

"You know you can always rub your scent on me again after I take a shower, right?" Beca smirks. Yes, she admits, she's a goner for this kind of childlike clingy manner. There's something about having the women she loves cling to her that feeds her ego very well. It's the same either with Chloe or Ashley, and even with Emily.

Chloe pouts and shakes her head. "It must be peanut talking. You know that a pregnant woman has silly appetites. And apparently, I love smelling my scent on you."

Trying yet failing to bite back a grin, Beca rolls her eyes playfully and says, "Fine, demanding pregnant wife. No showering this morning. But don't blame me if your nausea comes back."

With a triumphant smile, the redhead cheerfully says, "That's my wife. You'll still be charming for me even though you haven't showered yet."

"So I've been told." The brunette wiggles her eyebrows playfully, smirking ever so smugly, making her wife chiming out a light laughter.

After they finish breakfast and take their meds, Beca brings the bowls to the kitchen and calls her personal assistant to inform that she'll take a day off. Donna asks her about Ashley again, and she explains it briefly along with Chloe's condition.

There's no doubt that Donna scolds her for being so careless and stupid about almost kissing Ashley, and then the older redhead scolds her more for leaving her pregnant wife alone. Knowing that she shouldn't reason or talk back, the DJ simply listens to the rant for around five minutes. When her personal assistant finally ends the phone call, Beca shoves her phone into her pocket.

With her butt leaned onto the kitchen counter, she drops her chin down, huffing harshly as she rubs the back of her neck with both hands. Being reminded by her assistant about how stupid she was brings her down. However, knowing that she has to focus on taking care of her pregnant wife, Beca closes her eyes and presses her forehead with the bottom of her palms, massaging it so hard as if trying to push her worry to the back of her mind. "You'll have time to talk to her again when you two are preparing Troian and Patrick's wedding." She mutters under her breath. "Right now, your wife needs you." Then she takes a deep deep breath and heads to the bedroom again.

After getting onto the bed, the DJ hugs her wife from aside. They are in a sitting position with their back leaned onto the headboards, and the redhead automatically hugs her from aside, resting her head onto her shoulder.

"What took you so long?" Chloe asks softly.

"Donna talked. A lot." The brunette replies nonchalantly. "I got a third degree burn for leaving you alone the whole night."

Chloe simply chuckles and hugs her wife even tighter. They continue watching the movie, bickering about the storyline all over again.

"But I still think that they should have ended up together." Chloe insists.

"Well, sometimes..." Beca argues stubbornly. "Some people are just not meant to be together. Sometimes, happy ending is not for everybody, and sometimes, it's possible to have a happy ending with another person you never thought you would." Then she adds in her mind.  _"Speaking from experience here."_

"No way." Chloe shakes her head, waving her fiery red hair languidly as she pulls away and looks into the brunette's eyes. "People who are meant to be together should have their happy ending together."

"Don't listen to mommy, Peanut." Beca rolls her eyes in mocked annoyance. "She ate too much candies when she was a kid."

Chloe gasps. "You can't take our baby to your side in this."

"You can't take our baby to your side in this." The DJ mocks with high pitched voice.

"You can't tell our kids that people who are meant to be together won't always end up together!"

"You can't tell our kids that people who are meant to be together won't always end up together!"

"Stop copying me!"

"Stop copying me!"

"Baby, stop!"

"Baby, stop!" The more Chloe pretends to be upset, the eager the brunette for teasing her. "Happy ending is overrated, Chlo" She mocks again. "Besides, Seb and Mia didn't have to end up together to have the happy ending that they dese-omph!"

Apparently, Chloe has smacked Beca's face with a pillow.

"What the..." The DJ's eyes wide in disbelief, but a grin is forming on her face.

"Take it back." The redhead glares, though a light curve of smile is playing by the corner of her lips, failed to be held back.

"No!"

Chloe starts tickling the side of her stomach. "Take it back, take it back, take it back."

"No, no, no." Beca returns in between laughter, squirming away from the devilish tickle. When she's failing, she scoots down and pulls the redhead's legs to lie down and straddles her waist as she starts tickling back.

"Oh my god!" Chloe squeals and laughs, squirming and trashing, trying to push her wife away. "Stop Baby, stop!"

"Nope!" The DJ keeps on tickling the side of her stomach. "Payback!" Then she swifts her head out of her wife's hands and wiggles her full of hair face onto Chloe's stomach playfully, making Chloe squeal and laugh even louder.

When she's out of breath, Chloe holds the side of her stomach and yelps in pain.

"What?" Beca becomes panic and moves away from Chloe's laps, rubbing her stomach frantically, looking back and forth in between her face and stomach. "Did I hurt you? Did I hurt peanut? Are you okay?"

When Chloe just keeps on breathing heavily and holding the side of her stomach with her face scrunched, the DJ's face turns pale and her heartbeat picks up. She's jumping into the worst scenario; hurting her wife and losing peanut. All of the fear and pain of almost losing Chloe back at the hospital comes back like a shockwave, multiplied by ten. "Chlo, babe, what hurts?" She cups Chloe's cheek with one hand, still panicking. "Talk to me! Should we go to the ER?! I- I'll call 911! Ju- just hol-"

Suddenly, Chloe flips their positions and smirks. Now she's the one who's sitting on the brunette's laps.

Beca drops her head back and closes her eyes, feeling so relieved but also upset. With both hands, she rubs her face harshly, trying to ease out her anger. It's stupid to feel angry because clearly, her wife is just joking. It was a cheap prank, and she fell into it blindly by making a stupid assumption. "Fuck, Chloe." Her voice muffled under her hands. "You scared the life out of me."

"You're easy." Chloe teases cheerfully before pulling Beca's hands off her face. Then she notices the water glistening those steely blue eyes, and she realizes she must have crossed the line. "Hey..." She caresses Beca's head gently. "I'm sorry."

With her face scrunched and her eyes closed, the DJ says with shaky voice, "Don't ever do that to me again, okay? If something happen to you and Peanut... I can't..." Even thinking about losing her wife and their baby chokes her up, and she can't finish her sentence. Therefore, she exhales harshly through her mouth to get rid of the lump.

Chloe kisses her wife down the jaw line and cheeks, saying in between kisses, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Even though she's still steadying her pacing heartbeat, she tries to hide how silly it is for her to be scared by a joke by scoffing and putting on her scowled face before she says with narrowed eyes, "Tricking your wife by pretending to be hurt, that's low, wife."

Still looking apologetic, Chloe chimes in a weak laughter. Then she leans downward, lying on top of her wife and buries her face into the crook of her wife's neck. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

With her lips pressed onto the redhead's crown and her arms wrapping her wife tightly, Beca mumbles, "Just don't joke about stuff like this again. What if it's actually happening and I thought you're just joking?"

Chloe nods repeatedly and says, "Promise."

Beca lets out a long relieved sigh, and Chloe stirs a bit to adjust her position so she can lie half on top of the brunette comfortably. Then they continue watching the movie again.

After the movie ends, Beca turns off the TV and presses her lips onto Chloe's hairline. "Have some rest, wife." She mumbles. "I'm not going anywhere."

With her eyes closed, the redhead nuzzles her nose into the crook of Beca's neck and says, "I know."

Both of them fall asleep not long after. By noon, some framed pictures from their wedding arrive at their house. They spend an hour placing them around the house. All along, Chloe is pouting because Beca forbids her to do anything at all concerning the pregnancy. Therefore, the DJ lets her wife order her around to put the pictures wherever she deems right.

The hugest one, the one capturing them kissing in their first dance, definitely their most favorite one, is hung over the wall above their heads in the bedroom.

Then they meditate and have lunch. Since Chloe is feeling much better, they go to the studio to record the album with the Bellas.

* * *

**Two days later, Sunday, May 17th 2026: Reunion Farewell**   **Party**

It's been a hectic but also productive week for the Bellas to fulfill their thirst of singing together again. Just like old times. Well, more or less. When they were not recording or not bursting into a song out of nowhere, each of them would do their own part in the group.

Aubrey would order people around; Beca would scowl for getting orders from Aubrey in her studio; Chloe would try to ease the tension between the two former captains; Stacie would dance seductively to try distracting her wife; CR would shake her head for the mess; Fat Amy would sneak around stealing Chloe's pregnancy snack when no one's looking; Emily would look back and forth between Aubrey and Beca with bored look; Flo would do acrobat around the room; Jessica and Ashley would do some props; and Lily would whisper some stuff or beatbox under her breath.

Since Monday a week ago, the tension has been chipped down thinner and thinner. The rest of the Bellas had been seeing how sickening sweet the newlyweds were, and it reassured them even more. The tension was still there but it had eased and Beca could take it more easily. Maybe also because the weight of holding back wasn't there anymore. Harley was right to say that if nothing changed after the DJ told her sisters about her feelings, then it would be on their conscience, not hers. So, it's been easier for her to deal with the remaining tension.

The only chain and ball that kept on bringing them down was Aubrey's constant doubtful glare towards the petite brunette. She didn't even try to hide it, especially when Chloe wasn't looking or around. Thankfully, it became easier to let go because it wasn't something new for the rest of the Bellas. The new dorky side of the tiny Mama-bear on the other hand, it's something worth watching and savoring.

For Beca herself, she doesn't give a damn care at all about Aubrey's look. She has so many things in her plate right now. Taking care of her pregnant wife, busy being sickening adorkable for her peanut, one time or two dealing with worry over her condition with Ashley, and tons of work. So, Aubrey's shitty attitude is number 3984 for her to care about.

Right now, the Bellas are at Stacie's place to celebrate the finishing of recording their album as well as having a reunion farewell party. Nothing could bring down the mood, and even Aubrey seems to be a bit more cheerful tonight. They just finished dinner, and they're gathering in the living room.

"For our first album!" CR raises her glass of champagne.

"For our first album!" The rest of the Bellas raise their glasses too.

"When do you think you can finish editing and put the album all together?" Flo asks CR excitedly.

"A month maybe two?" CR puts down her glass.

"Noob." Beca mocks, and CR just laughs.

"Pop and I wrote and produced six songs in four weeks." Emily grins teasingly at the black beauty.

"Hah!" CR scoffs. "You two were working together, and there were only six songs. Besides, you only dealt with a few voices each songs. Try ten."

"Do you need some help,  _noob_?" The DJ teases again.

"Nah..." CR chins up smugly. "My pilot project, ain't no way I'm gonna share the glory, Shorty."

Beca laughs lightly and says, "You'll do great."

"Damn right I will." CR scoffs, and the rest of them laugh lightly.

They keep the talk light and fun, reminiscing, comparing singing in the old days with singing when they're already older. All along, Chloe keeps looking at her sisters' faces, smiling with her chest so light yet full, feeling complete and content for having every each of them in her life.

Suddenly, she rubs her stomach and softly says, "I wonder if our children will be Bellas like us. You know, become sisters for life, still hanging out in their thirties when they already have their own tails in tow..."

Everybody's faces become softened, thinking and hoping about the same thing. Then Beca pulls the redhead closer with one arm and places a hand over Chloe's on her stomach before she coos at it, "Will become a Bella or not, Peanut will have an angelic voice like mommy. Won't you, kiddo?"

"And her mama's stellar music taste." Chloe grins.

"Of course." Beca puffs her nose smugly, and their sisters can't help but  _aw_ ing them all at once. All but not with Aubrey, who's just staring at the DJ with her eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to the bathroom, and then we can go home to pack up. Okay, Babe?" Chloe whispers to her wife.

"Sure." Beca nods and lands a quick kiss on her cheek. "Just be-"

"Careful." The redhead winks over her shoulder, making her wife chuckle.

After Chloe is out of the living room, Aubrey says to her successor, "You do know that the fetus can't hear you yet, right? It doesn't have ears yet."

"I know." The DJ smiles. Talking about her baby always makes her smile.

"So, why are you talking to it?" Aubrey asks.

"Because I want to." Beca replies nonchalantly.

"To deceive us?" The blonde pushes more buttons. "To show us as if you're really into it so we will let our guard down?"

Beca simply rolls her eyes. No, she won't trip into this pointless fight. Therefore, she doesn't say anything in return but popping her eyebrows knowingly with her lips pressed tightly into a thin line. Even the others are visibly sighing deeply, tired of another silly accusation from the blonde former captain.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Emily asks with raised voice. The more Beca tries to ignore the accusations, the more Aubrey pushes, the angrier her aca child becomes.

"What? I'm just curious." Aubrey says defensively. "We all knew from back in college, Beca wasn't a maternal type. She hated children, and kids hated her. So, I'm just wondering."

"You think she's just pretending to love her kid?!" Emily spats out angrily.

"Emily, wait." Flo interrupts. "I'm curious too." She looks at Beca. "No offense, Beca, but it's interesting to see how you're acting right now. Since we lost touch for ten years, we don't actually know how you come to this point. With the stories of your drinking habit, and compared to college, Aubrey is kind of right to wonder."

"Well..." Beca takes a deep breath and flexes her neck, wondering for a split second of why she has to explain every of her motives.  _"Can't they just think that I can actually love my own kid? And they think I'll start drinking again. Great."_  Nevertheless, she starts to explain, "You know the story of my first heart attack. After I got out of the hospital, I lived with Harvey and Donna for about seven months until Stephan was born. If it wasn't for their 24/7 tight observation, I wouldn't sober up cold turkey. And frankly, knowing that I would become a godmother motivated me a lot. But then I moved back to my place, I met Ashley, and I fell off the wagon. Long story short, I got another heart attack. But after I got out of the hospital and sober up again, I babysat for them from time to time. With Ashley obviously, because back then, I couldn't be trusted to be left alone with a baby. But I've learnt the basic stuff, you know, changing diapers, feeding, rocking him to sleep, those kind of stuff. Since then, I started to change my mind about kids. Then I was with Ashley, and she loved kids, and over the years, I started to change my mind about  _having_  kids. Besides, Fat Amy's kids and smurfette don't seem to have any problems with me so far."

"Oh..." is coming from her sisters. Explanation breeds understanding directly, finally.

"Belles loves her." Stacie comments in mocked annoyance. "Bec-Bec this, Bec-Bec that. Sometimes it could be annoying."

Beca barks out a loud laughter, and so are  _most_  of her sisters.

"I'm excited, you know." The DJ says with a beaming grin after the laughter unwind. "And I know it seems so silly to talk to a tummy. But... it feels good. Awesome even. I'm happy, my wife's obviously happy, and peanut will be happy to have an embarrassing story about her mama being dorky. Other than ruining my street cred, which I'm happily doing, no harm is done to anybody. Besides, seeing my pregnant wife smile is a good way to start and to end a day."

Another  _aw_  comes out. It's hard not to coo at all since the Beca they knew back in college wasn't someone who talked or did sweet things openly. In addition, they've seen how sweet Beca with Ashley at the reunion last year, and if they have to compare, they can see that Beca is treating Chloe just as sweetly if not more.

Even so, somehow Aubrey isn't convinced yet, but before she can argue, Chloe has walked back into the living room.

"Ready?" The redhead asks her wife.

Beca simply nods and gets up.

"Where are you going?" Jessica and Ashley ask in unison.

With an apologetic smile, Chloe says, "We know you're headed out tomorrow, but we have to pack for our honeymoon tomorrow."

Fat Amy and CR whistle.

"Where are you going?" Flo asks excitedly.

"Ananda Meditation Retreat in Northern California." Beca replies.

"How will you get there?" Stacie asks.

Chloe locks the DJ by the neck playfully with one arm, making her yelp, and then she cheerfully says, " _I_ , suggested my adorably overprotective wife that we should take a flight to Sacramento, and then drive up there. But  _she_ , being the adorable overprotective wife, stubbornly refused."

"No way." Beca says while ducking out of Chloe's arm and hugs her from behind instead, resting her chin onto her wife's shoulder and her hands on her wife's stomach. "We'll use a chopper to get there directly. I have requested the pilot to take us there smoothly. Can't risk my pregnant wife having a long drive, or a bumpy flight. And our doctor already gave us a go."

With her fingers laced with her wife's on her stomach, Chloe rolls her eyes playfully and says, "It's only one hour and a half for the flight, and two hour drive from Sacramento to get there. It isn't that long, Babe."

"Nu uh." Beca shakes her head with stubborn look. "Don't care. My wife is pregnant, and I want her and my baby to be comfortable and safe all the time. No compromising for that."

Chloe turns her head and gives the DJ a hard peck on the cheek. "How lucky am I for having you?"

"Try very lucky." The petite brunette states matter of factly.

Upon seeing the so domestic conversation between the newlyweds, their sisters chuckle and shake their heads lightly.

"So..." Beca says to her sisters, pulling away from her wife. "Safe flight for Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily. Until we see you again."

"I'm gonna miss you, girls." Chloe steps forward with her arms stretched, asking a hug from her sisters who're going to head back tomorrow.

Not as usual, Beca joins them without being asked this time. But she doesn't join them for too long for the same personal reason as always; not comfortable with hugging more than one person at one time.

After they break the hug, Aubrey grabs the redhead's arms and worriedly says, "Make sure you can reach me all the time."

"I can't do that." Chloe grimaces. "It's a noble silent meditation, and any gadgets isn't allowed.

"What if you need me, Chloe?" Aubrey asks worriedly.

"Don't worry, Bree." Chloe says with a reassuring smile. "Nothing's gonna happen."

"Geez, aca-nazy." Fat Amy says with bored look. "It's not like Ginger is a kid, or  _your_  kid. Just let her bloom and shine on her own."

"Fat Amy is right, Bree." Emily comments with a matter-of-factly look. "It's a honeymoon. Not a ninth grade camp. And it's not like you don't know how a retreat works. You own one, remember?"

Aubrey rolls her eyes in annoyance, but when it seems like she's going to argue, her wife firmly says, "Enough, Bree. Don't argue with this, and stop being so overprotective to Chloe."

"Fine." Aubrey bites.

With an apologetic look, Chloe rubs the blonde's arms to soothe her and says, "I've already got an overprotective wife, Bree. I'll be fine."

Aubrey sighs heavily and says to the redhead, "Okay. Just be safe."

"I will." Chloe smiles and nods.

Then the blonde looks at Beca and firmly says, "You have to promise that you will take a good care of her."

"Sure." The DJ says nonchalantly. "Although, you don't need to keep reminding me about what I already know. I'm already doing it."

"Could've fooled me." Aubrey says coldly. "I know what you're capable of."

"Bree..." Chloe warns tiredly. It's not like she hasn't noticed the way her best friend is treating her wife, but she knows that Aubrey has a good intention. She might have had a bit part in making Aubrey became more overprotective by telling the blonde about Beca staying overnight at the office when she was sick. She didn't do it to rat out her wife but simply saying it in a casual conversation.

On the other hand, doesn't want to prolong a pointless argument, Beca simply sighs and puts on a tight lipped smile without saying anything.

In that moment, the rest of the Bellas, especially Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily finally see what Beca means with Aubrey is waiting for her to make a mistake.

Upon seeing the tired look on Chloe's face, Aubrey sighs in resignation, and then she says to the petite brunette with softened yet also half-annoyed voice, "Just make sure that Chloe is okay during the retreat, and monitor her morning sickness. We can't have you leaving her all over again just for something insignificant like work."

Beca straightens her back and puts on a straight face. "Sir, yes sir!" She salutes her former captain.

Emily snorts. Even some of the Bellas are sucking their lips to hold back a laughter.

On the other hand, Stacie is looking at Beca with a pleading look as if saying  _don't pour gasoline into a fire._

"I'm not kidding, Beca!" Aubrey snaps.

With a dead serious puzzled look, the DJ puts down her hand and retorts, "Who said that you were kidding? How impolite of them. Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk." She shakes her head, making it very hard for the other Bellas to hold back their laughter.

When Aubrey is about to snap at Beca again, Chloe hurriedly says, "We're going now. Bye, girls!"

"Bye!" The rest of the Bellas say in unison.

Then the redhead hurriedly pulls her chuckling wife out of the house and goes back to theirs next door.

After the two of them left, Aubrey glares at her sisters and asks, "What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?" Fat Amy asks in confusion.

"I thought we're supposed to be protecting Chloe." The former captain raises her voice. "All of us."

"From?" Flo asks with puzzled look.

"From being hurt by Beca!" Aubrey exclaims.

"Ginger seems to be happy and fine." Fat Amy is still looking confused. "What's to protect, aca-nazy?"

"We've seen how attentive Beca to Chloe in the past week." Jessica says matter of factly, and her wife continues, "How she always took a detour in the room just to kiss the top of Chloe's head and rubs Chloe's stomach from time to time."

"Did you see how she talked to the fetus with that goofy smile?" Flo coos. "Where did her smirk and scowled face go?"

Emily squeals while pressing her palms onto her cheeks, cooing, "She's so cute! If she keeps on doing this, I think we could all die from diabetes!"

The others laugh together, but Aubrey cuts it short. "Of course she'd do that in front of us. It's a great cover, pretending to be happy for her pregnant wife. And she's succeeding. We'll never see it coming when she decides to hurt Chloe again."

"Ay, ay." CR warns. "Stop doubting and accusing captain, Bree. You're saying  _decides_  as if Shorty is planning to do something to hurt Chloe. She's not, and she's genuinely happy now."

"And she has been nothing but great in treating Chloe." Flo says with an awkward grimace, feeling a bit sorry for having a u-turn in this situation.

"She even didn't allow me to eat Ginger's pregnancy snack at all." Fat Amy points out. "And I don't think there's anything sweeter than that."

"Beca isn't hurting Chloe, Bree." Emily says in half-annoyance. "As a matter of fact, Beca isn't hurting anyone here. You are. You're going the extra miles to hurt Beca in every chance you have."

"What do you mean?" Aubrey crosses her arms on her chest. "You know Beca's track record. It's happened before. Only a couple of months in their relationship, she has hurt Chloe more than once. Let's start with how ignorance she was at the beginning of their relationship-"

"It was because you were such a bitch." Emily cuts her off. "You wouldn't let Chloe to have the therapy, and you were suffocating Beca when she was brokenhearted. You still are. Both a bitch, and suffocating Beca."

Aubrey rolls her eyes and continues without any regard of what Emily just said. "She disappeared when they had a fight, and remember the picture of Ashley went to her studio for lunch when Chloe was still in the hospital?"

"I've told you. Ashley was meeting me for lunch. Not Beca." Emily corrects.

Still, the older blonde just ignores the youngest Bella and says, "And the night she had the night terror, it was because Ashley started dating someone else."

"Wait, what?" Flo seems taken aback. This is news for some of them. Other than CR, the rest of them haven't found out about it.

Then Aubrey explains the whole situation to them. She tells them about how Beca had put on the best facade for a few months, pretending to love Chloe to fool all of them, and this time is no different.

"Really?" Flo is definitely conflicted, and she's not the only one. Jessica and Ashley are looking at each other with their eyebrows furrowed. Meanwhile, Lily is staring at nothing at all with narrowed eyes. They just started to trust the DJ, and now they got this information that could easily regress their progress.

"Hold on." CR tries to clear the air. She can see that the reconciliation a week ago is still shaky. "Don't jump into any conclusions. Yes, Shorty had a night terror on the same night Ashley started dating someone. But on the same night, Chloe also proposed. Getting hit by two things she was scared the most at the same times, it was hard on Shorty, and she couldn't have controlled her mind when she was sleeping. So, it was understandable. And it didn't cause any collateral damage. Shorty still married Chloe in the end."

When it seems like her sisters aren't convinced, Emily rolls her eyes and retorts, "Isn't it normal? To feel hurt when the ex you still loved moving on to someone else? All of us knew Beca's reason to choose Chloe in the first place. You couldn't just expect her to be okay right away just because she was already with Chloe. The most important thing is, she dealt with it, and she still chose to stay with Chloe."

"And despite of how she felt about hot blondie, we could see that Shawshank's been trying to treat and love Ginger better." Fat Amy points out.

Flo, Jessica, and Ashley are looking back and forth while processing the explanations.

"Whatever." Aubrey rolls her eyes in annoyance again. "The point is, I'm not trying to hurt her. I'm just making sure that she won't hurt Chloe again."

CR shakes her head with her lips pressed tightly, seeming more upset than confused now. "Ain't sure about you wanting to protect Chloe from Shorty, but you trying to hurt Shorty is definite."

"I, am, not!" Aubrey says firmly and stubbornly. "Why would I try to hurt her without any reasons?"

"Because you hate her?" Emily retorts with  _duh_  look.

"I don't hate her!" The blonde former captain insists.

"Well, you're not proving the otherwise by being mean to her, aca-nazy." Fat Amy says with a tight-lipped smile. "And frankly, it seems like you're trying to get us to do the same."

Feeling cornered, Aubrey looks at Flo, Jessica, Ashley, and Lily who are usually on her side. "Tell them that we're only doing what's best for Chloe."

With an awkward grimace, Flo glances at Jessica, who glances at her wife, who glances at Lily, who glances at nothing at all. The four of them seem torn. Then Flo mutters to Aubrey, "I uh... we uh... about that..."

"Beca talked to us." Jessica says apologetically, and Ashley adds, "About how we've been treating her unfairly, and how it made her feel."

"And she made some points." Lily finishes, eyes moving side to side in between her sisters. "We've gone too far in our way to protect Chloe."

Aubrey scoffs and sarcastically says, "Of course she'd try to get you on her side. What did she say? How painful it was for being pushed? Begging you to stop nagging her?"

"Ain't no way Capt would've done that." CR raises her voice a bit. "She told us how she's been doing everything  _you_  asked for, yet all of us seemed to be not satisfied with everything. How we put the responsibility of her relationship with Chloe solely on her shoulders. Like she's the only one capable of messing up based on one stupid mistake she made more than ten years ago."

"Because she is!" Aubrey snaps. "For as long as we've known her, she has been the selfish arrogant one who thought that she could do just anything and get away from it!"

"Pot meet kettle, kettle meet pot." Emily gestures her hands from side to side.

Aubrey cringes with disgusted look as if being compared to Beca makes her want to crawl into the deepest hole. She shakes her shoulders and retorts, "Remember the improvisation that cost us our chance into final in your first year? Remember the internship that took her focus away from the Bella? Remember the time she left and came back like nothing happened? Remember she kissed Chloe and then didn't choose her?"

"You reaaally really need to learn how to let go." Fat Amy shakes her head, staring sternly at Aubrey.

There's no way Aubrey is backing down. "And now, you've seen the MTV Awards. I think all of us can agree that the song Katy Perry sung, it was about her own feelings. She's constantly writing songs for Ashley. Before this, there was All I Ask by Adele."

"All I Ask was written on the day she got back to the hospital." Emily explains. "It was way long before she fell in love with Chloe again. Can't blame her for pouring out her feelings with the one way she could."

"And about Katy's song, Katy said it was about her own life." Jessica comments, and Ashley adds, "Most likely about John and Orlando."

"See how easily she tricked us?" Aubrey retorts convincingly.

"Geez..." Fat Amy shakes her head with dumbfounded look. "You are way over your head, aca-nazy."

"And you should stop." Emily says.

When Aubrey wants to argue, Stacie firmly says, "They are right, Babe. You have to stop treating Beca like an enemy."

"I'm not treating her like an enemy." Aubrey says with a complete confused look. She doesn't know how her friends could come to that conclusion. "From her track record, I'm just doing a precaution."

CR scoffs, "I don't know what you think and how you feel about Shorty, and I don't want to judge you. But from the way I see it, if you keep doing what you think is a precaution to protect Chloe, you will end up breaking them apart."

" _That_ , in the end will hurt Chloe." Emily points out.

"We can't let you do that to her." Flo says firmly.

"You think I'm trying to hurt Chloe?" Aubrey asks in disbelief with her hands clenched tightly, fingernails dig into her flesh. She's beyond angry now for being wrongly accused.

"All we see is Beca trying to be an amazing wife for Chloe." Jessica says patiently, and her wife adds, "And we have to say that she's succeeding. We've never seen Chloe this happy before."

"And for all we know, you're trying to ruin it because you're angry for getting fired." Lily whispers.

"Ba dump tss." Fat Amy drums an imaginary drumset, approving her sisters.

Aubrey is staring at her friends with her mouth and eyes wide open. She can't believe her sisters could accuse her like that. When she finally finds her words again, she defensively says, "All of you know how much I love Chloe! There's no way I would do anything to hurt her!"

"Not the way I see it." CR points out without any hesitation. "I've heard everything, not only from Shorty, but also from Stacie and Emily. And since I got here more than a month ago, I've seen it myself. Especially your toast on their wedding. You might be trying to hurt Shorty, but you need to realize that it's also Chloe's wedding."

"I..." Aubrey seems to be taken aback. "I uh... I didn't." When she can't say anything to rationalize what she did, she deflects. "It was a joke!"

"Not from the place I came from." Emily says coldly. "You humiliated Pop."

When Aubrey is about to say more, CR beats her to it. "The bottom line is, Shorty is doing her best to love Chloe, and Chloe is happy. We don't need any excuses to not trusting Captain anymore."

"I'm with black beauty." Fat Amy says.

"I think CR is right." Flo says with an awkward grimace.

"Us too." Jessica and Ashley chip in. They seem apologetic for sure, but now that they can see the situation more clearly, they finally realize how silly they've been acting.

"Count me in." Lily whispers while raising her hand up.

Aubrey is taken by surprise of how her sisters have turned their back completely on her. Feeling like she needs supports, she looks at her wife.

"I'm with them." Stacie raises both hands in front of her chest. "It's time for you to see what Beca is doing; not what she can or may do. And Beca is right. The responsibility to keep their relationship isn't only on her shoulders. It's on both hers and Chloe's. Right now, you're unnecessarily making it yours."

For a couple of seconds, Aubrey can only stare at her wife with her jaw hung open in disbelief. "I can't believe you!" She roars after she can find her voice again, and then she storms out of the living room, straight to her bedroom upstairs.

After the blonde's gone, Stacie leans forward on her seat and rubs her face tiredly. Then she holds her forehead with her palms, staring at the table dejectedly as she says, "I'm sorry, guys. She's just..." She sighs tiredly. "I don't know what's happening to her. Since what happened to Chloe after Beca left more than ten years ago, every time, I mean, every single time Chloe did something that could hurt herself, it's like... it literally chipped something off my wife. When Chloe went overseas... there wasn't one night, and even one day, she didn't try to reach Chloe. And she didn't even want to move here in the first place if she had to leave Chloe in Boston. Thankfully, Chloe also wanted to stay close to her and moved here a couple of months after us."

Emily and CR move to sit on each side of Stacie.

While rubbing Stacie's back, Emily says, "I'm sorry, Stace. I just-"

"She's been hard on Beca." Stacie cuts the youngest Bella with shaky voice. "I know that. But you were there with us, Em. At the hospital... We were so close from losing Chloe that day, and instead of blaming Beca, she put down her ego, and she begged. My wife literally begged Beca to choose Chloe. Crying and spilling her gut, hoping that it could... at least wake Beca from her ignorance... And you know Aubrey. She doesn't do begging. Ever. But you knew what happened. Beca left. Without any regard of how we felt, or what Chloe needed. At that moment... that exact moment when Beca walked out on us... I don't know... I think maybe something just... snapped in my wife's brain. I know Beca came back to us, but for someone like Aubrey, trust is a huge deal. You broke hers once, it wouldn't be easy to regain. And try to stand in her shoes. She almost lost her best friend twice for the same reason; disappointed by Beca."

CR sighs heavily and says, "We didn't mean to belittle how much she loves Chloe, Stace. I swear. I just... I don't think the way your wife is treating Beca would do anything good for this situation. And Beca is right trying to deal with your wife in the way she could. By making it as a no big deal."

Stacie lets out a damp bitter chuckle and says, "For Beca, it's funny to make fun of my wife's overly protective behavior. While in fact, she knew better what scared people would do. I'm not trying to justify why my wife is doing what she's doing to Beca to protect Chloe. But she has her reasons for being ridiculously overprotective."

"Yes, we know her reason." Emily says, trying hard to tune down the annoyance in her voice to the lowest level. "Because Chloe tried to kill herself twice when Beca chose not to be with her. Everybody knew that she's still blaming Pop for that. But is there any reasons that she should keep blaming her after the wedding?"

"Try to see it in her perspective." Stacie says tiredly. "Beca left ten years ago, and even though she knew that we were looking for her like crazy, she didn't care. Aubrey was okay when they first met again. Even though with me trying to protect Beca almost torn our marriage, she welcomed Beca back. But then after Chloe tried to kill herself, Beca left again. Then Beca came back and produced All I Ask. It hurt Chloe, but my wife gave her another chance. Over times, she had started to trust Beca again, to treat Beca better until the night Chloe proposed. You do your math. How many times a person like Aubrey could stand her trust to be broken over and over again? So, cut her some slack if she finds it hard to believe that Beca won't hurt Chloe again."

"So, what?" Emily raises her voice. "Your wife is allowed to do just anything to justify her fear, and Beca is not? At least Beca didn't do it knowingly. Having a night terror isn't something she could control, Stace. Besides, all of us love Chloe just the same, and we were angry with Pop for leaving, but we've finally reached a point to give Pop a chance, a real chance to make it up because we knew that it wasn't easy for her too. She suffered just as badly. So, I don't understand why your wife can't even try to be nice to her at all. Accusing Pop that she's only pretending to love her baby? That is low, and the most outrageous part is, your wife is a mother!"

"Enough, Legacy." Fat Amy warns the aca child.

Emily complies because she's panting hard now, unaware that she had been yelling, and she's feeling bad for yelling at one of her most favorite sisters.

On the other hand, since she can't tell her sisters about her wife's story, the only thing Stacie can do is sighing heavily.

"Talk to her, Legs." CR squeezes Stacie's left shoulder. "She's your wife. Make her understand. She'll listen to you."

Stacie rubs her face down with both hands and then nods absentmindedly. "I'll try."

CR eyes her other sisters a hint that it's time for them to go and says, "We'll leave you to it."

With a tight lipped smile, Stacie nods, and then all of them say goodbye.

At the front porch, Emily hugs Stacie and grumbles like a child, "I'm still mad with your wife, leggy sister. But I'm sorry for yelling at you."

The older brunette returns the hug, chuckling weakly before she says, "You're lucky you're the youngest and I love you so much."

Emily chuckles and breaks the hug before she cheerfully says, "I am the lucky legacy."

With a half-annoyed smile, Stacie pulls the youngest bella's ear up in between her fingers.

"Atatatatatata- My ear! My ear!" Emily cringes and exclaims overdramatically.

The rest of her sisters laugh.

"That's for yelling at me." Stacie says nonchalantly, trying to hold back a grin, and then she lets go of the ear.

Pouting, Emily rubs her ear and whines, "I said I'm sorry."

"And now you're forgiven." Stacie shrugs and smirks.

"Hmph!" Emily pouts even more, making her sisters laugh even louder.

The youngest bella is indeed lucky she got off easy with Stacie. It's her advantage as a Legacy and the youngest one among all of them. She got so many of out of the jail cards, and the fact that she's halfly right keeps Stacie from staying angry with her. In addition, Emily childlike pouting is kind of cute for her sisters.

Even Beca couldn't resist that charm since college. She had been pinched, smacked on the back of her head, slapped on her arm, and yelled at by her aca child, but she couldn't bring herself to get mad because most of the times, Emily was right to do so.

The only person who doesn't really care about Emily's opinion is Aubrey, most likely because she has never been really close with the legacy. It's the same reason why Emily doesn't really respect the former captain.

* * *

After her sisters left, the tall drink of water goes into the bedroom she shares with her wife. When she walks in, the first thing she sees is the blonde lying on her side, her back facing the door. The tension is so thick that it sucks out the joy she just got from pranking Emily in a blink of an eye. She huffs out a long tired breath through her mouth and gets onto the bed before hugging her wife from behind.

Aubrey doesn't say or do anything at all. She's just lying on the bed silently while thinking about her life, how everything led to this day.

Stacie kisses the back of the blonde's shoulder and softly says, "Babe..."

"You're not on my side." Aubrey mutters weakly. "You said you'd always be, but today, you weren't on my side."

"Baby..." Stacie sounds apologetic. "I'm sorry to make you feel that way. I am on your side, but... you can't keep doing this. I know what happened to your mother-"

"Don't bring her into this." Aubrey cuts her off sharply. "You know I'm doing this because I love Chloe, and not because of what happened to my mom."

"But it's affecting you in a way that you don't want to admit." Stacie says patiently yet the tiredness in her voice is obvious. "I know you're doing what you're doing because you love Chloe, and you want to protect her from getting hurt. But I also know that your mom killed herself because your dad disappointed her over and over again. But Beca isn't your father, Babe. She loves Chloe. So, you don't need to feel like you have to save Chloe just because you think you should've saved your mother. You were only fifteen back then, Babe. It wasn't your fault. And Chloe tried to kill herself wasn't your fault too."

"What I'm doing has nothing to do with what happened with my mom." Aubrey says firmly. "Besides, who says that I'm comparing Beca to my father? Beca has it in her gene. A cheater gene. She got it from  _her_  father."

"Are you saying that at some point you'll cheat on me too?" Stacie asks in a proving a point tone. "Because your father cheated on your mother tons of times, Bree. That's why you hate him, because he's such a hypocrite, hiding behind all of those motivational talk that he couldn't walk on. Besides, Warren might have cheated on Beca's mom, but it was with one person that he ended up marrying."

Aubrey is taken aback by the backfire, but she recovers rather quickly by snapping, "Can we stop talking about my parents?!"

This particular issue has always been hard to poke. Aubrey only talked about her mother one time a year into their marriage. Took the blonde that long to reveal what happened to her mother to her wife, and the next time Stacie tried to bring it up, it ended up with a huge fight. Therefore, they'd never talked about it ever again.

Doesn't want to push her wife more, Stacie sighs heavily and tightens her arms around her wife. "What do you think if we move back to Atlanta? You can take care of the lodge, and I believe Harvey won't mind if I ask to move to the branch in Atlanta."

"No." Aubrey says firmly. "The reason I asked Chloe to move next to our house was for us to live closer to each other. I can't just leave after she moved in next door."

"But it was before you got fired, Bree." Stacie sounds more tired and desperate. "And you don't have to worry about Chloe anymore. She's happy with Beca. Now that you don't have any job, we can move away. You can take care of your lodge again, and that way, you'll be less distressed."

"I don't trust your best friend." The blonde says coldly. "She has put the best facade for months. I was fooled once to think that she could get over Ashley. Until she got the night terror, and her secret was revealed. I won't let her fool me twice. And after the meeting with Harvey and Donna, I already figured out why she agreed to every Chloe's demands so easily. She did it to get back to us, Stace. She thought she had all the power now after marrying my best friend, and she has turned all of you against me. But she will break Chloe's heart again. I'm a hundred percent sure of that. One day, all of you will see how right I am."

"Babe..." Stacie sighs heavily. "She didn't try to fool anyone. She was just... she was still on her way to move on. Now that Chloe is pregnant, I've seen how dedicated she is in this relationship. And you can see it too if you try to put down your guard for a minute. She loves Chloe, Babe. She won't hurt Chloe. At least not in purpose. So, let's put our attention and effort in our own marriage."

With her eyes closed, Aubrey firmly says, "I've told you about the meeting with Harvey and Donna. They thought by firing me could've stop me from protecting Chloe. What if I leave and they do something to Chloe? I can't, and I won't let Chloe being treated like shit by Beca's family."

"But you're treating Beca like shit!" Stacie has raised her voice out of frustration. "What did you expect them to do? Besides, they didn't fire you for protecting Chloe. Harvey and Donna don't have any problems with me at work so far. If you want them to treat Chloe better, I think you should apologize to Beca."

"You clearly know that they fired me for a personal reason." The blonde says sharply. "They did it as a revenge because I did what's best for my best friend. And I will not apologize for doing the right thing. I did what's need to be done. It was necessary. Besides, if Beca really is happy, then she's the one who needs to apologize and thank me for pushing her to have her happy ending with Chloe."

Stacie sighs heavily again and mutters, "You're thinking way too far out of the box. All they did was firing you because you broke the contract, and you said so yourself; you hadn't been able to keep up with work for weeks before you got fired. That's why you didn't dare talking back to Donna the morning Beca disappeared for a jog. And after the pain you put her through, you think Beca needed to thank you? To apologize to you?" She scoffs in disbelief. "Beca was right. After everything she did for Chloe's sake, you still think that it's your effort, your pain."

"You've crossed to the other side, Stace." Aubrey untangles herself from her wife and scoots further, still with her back on Stacie. "This is like college all over again. Beca messed up, I tried to fix her mistakes, she turned out to be the hero, and then I ended up being blamed. All of you got me cornered again this time, even though I did what I did for all of us. It's always easier to blame the vocal one."

"Baby... nobody is blaming you." Stacie says tiredly, but her wife wouldn't be her wife if she's not stubborn.

"I'm tired." The blonde says coldly. "I want to sleep, and my decision is final. We won't go anywhere without Chloe. Period."

For the umpteenth times, Stacie sighs heavily. She's so upset and tired, but she loves her wife more than anything in this world. Therefore, she scoots closer and hugs the blonde again. With her lips pressed onto the back of Aubrey's shoulder, she mumbles, "Okay. We won't move. What do you say if we give Bella a sister or a brother? You're not working, and you can enjoy pregnancy with Chloe. How does it sound?"

"I'm stressed out of my mind, and you want me to get pregnant?!" Aubrey asks with raised voice.

Trying to stay calm, Stacie takes a deep breath and says, "If you don't want to carry, then I can carry our baby. I just want you to have something to do. A purpose. Other than going way out of your way to... protect Chloe more than necessary." Then she tries to persuade with a teasing tone. "Besides, it won't be long until Bella doesn't want me to kiss her cheek anymore when I drop her at school."

A part of Aubrey feels excited thinking about having a mini Stacie in the house. However, she's sure that she won't be able to focus on the pregnancy because she'll be worrying about Chloe too much. She can't let her guard down; not until she can trust Beca completely. Therefore, she huffs out a long tired breath and says, "Not now, and not soon."

Running out of option, Stacie pulls her wife to lie on the back. Gently, she caresses the blonde's head and kisses her forehead. Then she softly says, "You seem tensed. Let me take care of you."

However, when she's about to lean downward to kiss her lips, Aubrey pushes her away and coldly says, "I'm tired. Can't we just go to sleep now?"

With a heavy pang in her chest, Stacie closes her eyes and turns around. Aubrey had never rejected her before, no matter how hard the fight they had. Instead of going to sleep, she decides to go to downstairs. She needs alcohol to get through this, wondering about how fixing Chloe's relationship with Beca could shake her own marriage this badly. Beca was clearly wrong to say that lying to Chloe in the first place would destroy three lives. Turns out, it would most likely only destroy two lives; hers and her wife's.

* * *

**Next door at the same time**

Beca and Chloe just finished packing and washing up. Right now, Chloe is lying on the bed with two stacks of pillows under her head while nourishing a plate of fruit and watching TBBT.

Meanwhile, the DJ is lying on her side on the same pillows, propping her head on an elbow, looking at her wife's face while rubbing her wife's stomach gently. "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"

Even though she's a bit confused of the sudden compliment, the way Beca is looking at her right now somehow turns Chloe's inside into a goo. It has never failed so far to make Chloe giddy and blush. Nevertheless, she smiles and answers, "One time or two."

"You're beautiful." The DJ grins, and then she kisses the redhead all over her face sloppily. "You're so so beautiful, my beautiful beautiful wife."

With her cheeks flushed, Chloe giggles from the kisses, and then she says, "Okay. I heard you the first time, Romeo." When Beca keeps staring at her with glimmering eyes and a grin so grand, raining her with adoration, the redhead asks, "Why aren't you watching the show?"

"Why would I when I can look at your beautiful glowing face?" Beca retorts with a teasing smile.

"It's the pregnancy, you know." The redhead pokes the brunette's nose playfully. "After peanut is born, that look will wear off. I even bet that in a couple of months, when I start getting bigger and unattractive, you will stop looking at me this way."

Beca rubs her wife's stomach absentmindedly and says, "Nah... I bet you'll still be hot even with a huge baby bump and sausage fingers. I'll never get tired of seeing pregnant you. Pregnancy looks good on you, Chlo. Maybe you should be pregnant all the time."

Chloe chuckles and feeds her wife a chunk of apple, breath hitched a bit when her thumb meets Beca's tongue. "So, I have to be pregnant for you to look at me this way all the time?" She asks teasingly.

After swallowing the apple, Beca caresses her head gently and rests a hand on her cheek. "I won't mind feeling this way for the rest of my life. With you pregnant or not."

With her cheeks as red as her hair, Chloe retorts, "Really?"

"U huh." The DJ nods, her grin turns into a soft smile. "I've been here before, you know, looking at you like you're my most favorite constellation. Well, in secret obviously. Back in college, and you weren't pregnant then."

Chloe flutters her fingers down her wife's jaw and asks, "And what is it? Your most favorite constellation."

"Andromeda." Beca breathes out, a bit dizzy from the touch that makes her blood rush faster. "The chained princess."

"The chained princes?"

"Yea." The DJ nods and reaches for her phone on the nightstand. Then she opens up a constellation app to show her wife the picture of said constellation. While Chloe is looking at the constellation, the brunette scoots down, head propped on the elbow facing her wife's stomach, lips barely pressed onto its side over the soft fabric of lingerie, one hand rubbing it gently. "Now Peanut, in Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Her mother, had bragged that Andromeda was more beautiful than Nereids, sea nymphs who was blessed with incredible beauty. Nereids, being a jerk that she was, got angry and ratted to Poseidon. So, Poseidon ordered Cetus, the sea monster to attack their kingdom, Aethiopia. Then Cepheus, being a stupid father that he was, had listened to a stupid oracle to sacrifice Andromeda to save the kingdom. Andromeda was chained. That's why she was called the chained princess. But luckily, there was this hero named Perseus who saved the princess. In the end, they got married, had nine children, and lived happily ever after. After she died, Athena, the kind goddess, put her as a constellation in the sky to honor her."

Meanwhile, Chloe just listens to her wife talking to their fetus, her smile keeps on growing fonder, fingers running through her wife's brown locks gently. Nothing can compare to the feeling of having Beca this way; not even when they said I do. Her stomach is fluttering, chest inflated, and it's vibrating to the tip of her fingers and toes. Her voice is a bit shaky, husked when she says, "So, why is it your most favorite constellation, Babe?"

"Well..." Beca scoots up to level with the redhead, still propping her head on an elbow, a hand still on her wife's stomach, and Chloe automatically stirs closer so she can run her fingers on the brunette's cheek and jaw. "It was the first galaxy I saw and learnt. When I first moved into granddad's house, I was so down, you know, with the divorce and moving away. So one night, granddad brought me to the roof and taught me to find Andromeda with binoculars. I was mesmerized, petrified by the wonder mystery of the night sky. That was the moment I became a geek for astronomy. Stargazing became my hobby, and doing it took away so many worries and pain. And Andromeda, she was my first love, you know, in constellation wise. She just... stuck."

"Like me." Chloe grins while brushing her thumb on Beca's cheekbone.

"Like you." Beca chuckles.

Upon seeing how bright the DJ's face is, Chloe just can't help herself. She slithers her hand to the back of Beca's head, slipping her fingers in between the curly brown locks, and pulls her wife in for a deep long kiss. When she feels the brunette's fingers fiddling on her hipbone, she chuckles into the kiss.

"What?"

"It's ticklish."

Beca chuckles and pulls away slightly to get a clear view of smiling Chloe.

"I'm wondering..." The redhead says, fingers playing a strand of brown curls. "How would it feel like to date you back in college? To make love to a horny teenager you. You know, judging from how insatiable the adult you."

The DJ scoffs, "You're not missing out on anything cool, wife. You don't want to know what a bundle of nerves and a bumbling mess I was when I started a relationship with Ashley."

The mention of Ashley's name makes Chloe flinch a bit, and it doesn't go unnoticed by Beca. But she keeps talking casually, knowing that Chloe needs to get used to talking about Ashley eventually, especially if she's able to convince the blonde to stay friends with her. "I was shaking and sweating only by taking her hand in mine every time we were about to cross the road, I pretended to be upset every time she kissed me in public places, I shoved the flowers onto her nose for so many times because I was too nervous, I couldn't even compliment her without choking on my own tongue. So, nah... you're not missing out. I've become charming when I started dating you."

Chloe chuckles and says, "I'm not missing out on much then. You were just like that back in college. Other than you never initiated intimacy, you did pretend to be upset every time I kissed your cheek, and you didn't even dare to give me flowers directly. You always left it in front of my door. Well, maybe it was because you did it when I was mad at you. But it was the same awkward you."

"Huh." The DJ is surprised, and then she laughs lightly. "I was, wasn't I? But I'm a late bloomer, wife. So talking about having sex, most likely, if we had dated back then, I would've been inexperienced, awkward, not knowing my way around your body, and... bleagh. You wouldn't want my trembling sweaty hands in any parts of your body."

Chloe chimes in a light laughter that makes Beca's stomach flip. "It wasn't like that in my head." She says with sultry voice, trailing the tip of her thumb on Beca's earlobe gently, making the brunette hiss. "Back then, I always believed that you had a pair of swift hands. You know, seeing how talented you were with mixing boards, a piano, and a guitar. And I think the vocalizing exercise taught us more than well enough in using our mouth. Turns out, I was so right. But actually making love with you feels a lot better than my imagination. So much better."

"Hmmm..." Beca looks at her wife with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. "So... you had it all figured out in your head since college, huh?"

"U huh." The redhead says with husky voice as she leans closer to hover her lips over her wife's. "I could go on for hours only by imagining your fingers and tongue drawing the best orgasms out of me."

A low grunt echoes out of Beca's stomach, and then she whispers, "Care to share?"

* * *

_**Smut** _

"Your lips..." The redhead breathes out, rocking her hips automatically. "Nipping wet kisses down my chest."

The sensual voice is electric, and Beca has to flex her neck to keep her desire steady. Since they started making love again, they've done it hard and rough. But tonight, Beca wants it to be gentle, to be light, to touch her wife delicately, like the way she did on New Year.

Therefore, the DJ trails her lips, giving open mouth kisses from Chloe's jaw, down to the throat, sucking and biting the pulse point gently, making Chloe tremble and purr. Then she moves to kneel in between the redhead's legs, staring at Chloe who's biting her own bottom lip sensually. The view sends shiver down her spine, flipping her stomach inside out.

Then Beca curves down to hook her thumbs under Chloe's lingerie strings and pulls them down ever so slowly, brushing her knuckles down her wife's arm, making the small hair raises.

Chloe's eyes roll back, and she stirs her head aside, breath hitches from the sizzling sensation that burns her skin.

When the lingerie has finally pulled out of the redhead's legs along with the underwear, Beca bends down, curving her back to trail her lips from the inside of Chloe's ankle, up along the inside of her shin, then to the side of her knee and bites it gently.

Chloe's face falls open, hands grasping her own hair tightly, ragged breaths falling out of her lips heavily.

While her lips are busy attending one leg, Beca's left hand runs, roaming on Chloe's other leg. Then she plants open mouth kisses on Chloe's inner thigh, but she passes the area Chloe needs her to touch the most.

" _Babe..."_ Chloe rolls her hip, begging, demanding.

With her eyes glancing up, Beca simply smirks and kisses the area on her hip line, just above the red curls, making Chloe roll her hip once more.

" _Baby..."_ The redhead sounds more desperate now, trying to push Beca down to her core.

However, Beca resists and crawls her way up instead.  _"Patients, wife."_  She breathes out over the redhead's ear while brushing her hip line with a thumb.  _"Patient."_

An impatient cry slips out of Chloe's lips, making her wife chuckle. With her trembling hands, she unbuttons the brunette's shortpants hurriedly, and then yanks out the shirt over her wife's head. Since she's doing it too quickly, it gets caught up in between Beca's teeth.

"Ofh!" Beca yelps, her lips streched one sided.

Chloe drops her head back and laughs.

"Not cool, impatient wife. Not cool." The DJ muffles with shirt in between her teeth, looking cute when she's pretending to look upset, making the redhead laugh even louder.

Chloe lifts up her head slightly and grabs Beca's wrapped in a shirt face, still laughing when she say, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Gagh!" Beca spits out the shirt out of her mouth and pulls back. After freeing herself from the shirt and kicking off her pants along with the underwear, she curves down, hands beside her wife's arms to hold herself up, leaning closer to her wife's face without putting down much of her body weight onto her wife. "You'll be paying for that in a second."

Chloe chimes in another clear laughter, but Beca silences her by thrusting her tongue into her mouth.

" _Mmph."_ The redhead muffles against the DJ's lips, startled for a second, but her hands automatically close behind her wife's neck, locking her legs around her wife's waist, pulling closer, flushing their bare bodies into one.

While her tongue is battling with the redhead's, Beca brushes her knuckles up and down the curve of Chloe's side with one hand. The heat picks up again, and Chloe finds herself quivering under her wife's touch. She craves for this sensations all the time, and when she gets it, it feels like she can't get enough.

Then Beca breaks the kiss breathlessly and continues her journey, nipping her way down her wife's neck, brushing her lips on Chloe's collarbone, ghosting her breaths on it, pulling out a deep moaning from her wife's throat as she scrapes her teeth on the breast line.

Meanwhile, Chloe gasps, her head is spinning around, and she automatically grasps her wife's locks to hold on. Her mouth gaps, opening and closing along with the damp ragged breaths she tries to catch, pouring out soft and hard moans incoherently.

Beca dips the tip of her nose into the crook under Chloe's breast, giving it a light nudge before swiping her tongue on it.

" _Oh God... God, Becs..."_ Chloe moans with her back arched.

With a smirk so smug, the DJ pulls back a bit, eyes shot up to look at her wife's face when she says, "Tell me more."

"Huh?" Chloe is confused in her frazzled mind.

"You said you'd figured it all out back in college." The DJ says. "So, tell me more about it."

Chloe rolls her fluttered eyes, feeling more impatient and a bit annoyed.  _"Just... just take my nipple into your mouth, will you?"_

It's said with hoarse voice as if the redhead is thirsty, and Beca grants her the request, but not before running the tip of her tongue in a circle outside of the nipple line until it stands out, hardened, sharp. As the brunette takes the nipple in between her teeth and cups it with her tongue, Chloe lets out a long shaky relieved moan.

While her tongue is busy with one nipple, Beca cups the free one with her palm before giving it a gentle massage. She can feel it on her stomach that pressed onto Chloe's core, her wife is wet already, and she smirks onto Chloe's breast.

Chloe's loin in burning, and she wants, she needs Beca to touch her, to free her from this ecstatic torment. Therefore, she pushes the brunette's shoulders down.

Just like before, Beca doesn't comply instantly. Instead, she kneads Chloe's breasts with both palms, nibbling the nipples in between her fingers while her lips and tongue exploring the sensitive spots on Chloe's stomach.

Chloe is writhing, her legs trashing, wide, challenging. Beca biting the area under her belly button is when Chloe feels like she's going to combust from the frustration.  _"Baby, please... please... I need your tongue in me now..."_

Still, Beca doesn't comply. To tease Chloe more, she kisses the area  _near_ her core, brushing her inner thighs and the hip line with wet lips. Every time Chloe rolls up her hip, Beca just pulls backward.

It's not until Chloe lets out an angry growl from her throat that Beca runs her tongue flat onto the wet folds.

_"Becs..."_ Chloe's moan comes out shakily, back arched up while she's trembling.

Gently, the DJ takes the bud into her mouth and sucks it. As the sucking becomes harder, Chloe squirts a bit into her mouth, and a loud grunt comes out of her throat as she pulls away. Then Beca crawls her way up, running the tip of her tongue, licking Chloe from the belly button up to the throat along the way, and then she bites Chloe's chin gently.  _"Impatient much?"_  She breathes out, smirking while propping herself up with her right elbow pressing onto the bed next to Chloe's arm before tossing her own hair back with her free hand.

Panting hard, Chloe just rolls her dilated darker blue eyes, and she hasn't even said anything yet when Beca attacks her lips fiercely. She returns the kiss hungrily, so needy that she guides Beca's left hand to her core hurriedly. This time, Beca complies.

When the brunette cups her and presses her palm on her, Chloe jerks and bites back a moan into the kiss.

When the brunette parts her labia and presses a finger flat onto her heated folds, Chloe's face falls open as she cries out a long,  _"Nngh..._ _,"_ against her wife's lips.

When the brunette teases her by running the tip of her finger up and down her folds while sucking her bottom lips, Chloe lets out a long deep growl from the pit of her stomach.

Just then, Beca breaks the kiss to ask breathlessly,  _"What do you want?"_

" _Make love to me..."_ Chloe gasps.  _"Right now..."_

A deep grunt coming from the DJ's throat is enough confirmation, and she dips two fingers all at once into her wife.

" _Aaah..."_ Chloe moans in relief, lifting her chin with her mouth wide open and her eyes closed. Then she slides her fingers through the brown locks to grasp the back of Beca's head, pulling her closer.

Breathing heavily, Beca buries her face into the crook of Chloe's neck and starts thrusting her fingers in and out, curling and twirling inside, pushing and pressing the clit with her thumb along the way.

" _Yes... Oh yes, Baby... Oh, oh, oh..."_ Chloe rolls her hips, rhyming, following her wife's lead. Listening to the DJ's heavy breathing near her ear just drives her even higher. When Beca nudges the tip of her fingers onto the spongy area in her, she curls her neck up, grasping the brown locks tightly as she coos,  _"Yeeessh... right there, baby... right there... oh, oh, oh, oh..."_

Feeling her hair getting pulled draws out a loud  _Fuck!_ from the brunette. She herself is panting hard, heated, over the edge only by pulling out the most exotic sound from her wife. Damn, how she loves it when her wife calling her  _baby_  when they're making love. It's the raspy voice, it's the need in the tone, it's the demand, and it gives her a swirling sensation that leaves her dizzy. Then she sucks her wife's pulse point, leaving a reddish mark on the skin. The harder she thrusts her fingers, the louder Chloe moans. When Chloe's core has become so tight, Beca curls her fingers inside and presses the clit at the same time.

Shattered and shuddering, Chloe bursts with a loud moan, crying out her wife's name as she becomes stiff for a moment, and then her arched back drops back onto the bed.

_**End of smut** _

* * *

Beca slows down her fingers to help the redhead riding out the orgasm. Meanwhile, she keeps on kissing Chloe's sweaty face all over, brushing her lips from the forehead to the chin, from cheek to cheek and the tip of Chloe's nose until she pulls her fingers out gently.

Then she lays herself next to Chloe, head propped up with one elbow. She brushes off the damp red hair on her forehead before resting one hand on her stomach. Even though she's still panting, she can't help but smiling from seeing how satisfied her wife is.

Still with her eyes closed and her chest heaving rapidly, Chloe chuckles. " _You_ , are so gonna be the death of me."

Beca smiles and nuzzles her nose into the side of Chloe's neck, breathing in her wife's natural warm scent that she has grown to love, to crave even since before they got married. Not the coconut vanilla that reminds her of Ashley, but Chloe's natural sweet scent that she's been familiar with since college; the only sweet scent that she likes. "Don't die on me." She whispers. "I can't live without you, Chlo."

It's so sudden, and it just came out, blurted out to be exact. There's a second where both of them just stop whatever it is they're doing, even stop breathing for a moment. Since the morning Chloe pranked her, Beca has this constant fear of losing her wife and their baby, and it has just gotten worse after she found out about pregnancy risks at Chloe's age. It's not bad actually, but Beca being Beca, she's focusing on the bad ones. Combined with the pain of almost losing Chloe at the hospital that she can still remembers vividly, it's safe to say that Beca's eyes has opened about just how much she needs Chloe in her life, alive.

Seems like Chloe is just as surprised. Of course she's surprised. She thought her wife would've given her some smug responses like  _Oh I'm that good, Chlo_ or  _So I've been told_  like usually. So yeah, she's taken aback. After the gear in her head starts kicking again, she turns on her side to look into her wife's steely blue eyes. With glistening eyes, she grabs Beca's cheeks and softly asks, "Do you mean it?"

Right that moment, seeing the mixture of hope and love pouring out from her wife's bright blue eyes, Beca can feel her own steady heartbeat thumping in her ears. This particular feeling, she only felt it around Ashley before. Usually in the count of three, everything around her,  _within her_ , would quiet down, slowing down as if coming to her in a slow motion; her breathing, her blood flow, her heartbeat. So, she waits.

" _One..."_ She starts counting in her mind.

" _Two..."_ She can feel a smile growing on her face in anticipation.

" _Three..."_ She can feel the excitement raises up from her stomach to her throat, ready to roar its way out.

However, nothing happens, not even until the count of six. Apparently, the feeling doesn't come. Close, so close and Beca can almost feel it, but it doesn't reach there. Knowing that she's face to face with her wife, it takes everything in her to hold back a long disappointed sigh. She holds her breath instead while thinking to herself,  _"Hopefully soon, Mitchell. Hopefully soon. For now, almost is enough. It is enough."_

Meanwhile, Chloe has seen the unreadable look again. It was there for just a split second, and then it was gone in a blink of an eye. This is confusing and frustrating for her. They were in such an amazing vibe, she's warm to the core of her heart, but then clicked, something became off with her wife. "Babe?"

The brunette puts on a smile so naturally. "What did you say?"

"Where did you go just now?" Chloe asks cautiously.

"I'm here." Beca chuckles. "I've been here, wife."

"But you looked like..." The redhead chews her bottom lip, her eyes narrowed, trying to read more. "It's like you were out of here for a couple of seconds."

"Pfft..." The DJ snorts. "How? I'm literally holding you right now."

" _Maybe it's just in your head, Chloe. You know how good your brain can mess up with you in the most destructive way; by being paranoid and distrusting."_ Chloe shakes off the odd feeling. Then with a cautious hopeful smile, the redhead repeats, "You said you can't live without me. Did you mean it?"

For the next couple of seconds, Beca simply caresses her cheek gently with a thumb, staring at her all over her face. She can see it all; the doubt, the hope, the anxiety, the love, and all of them are so Chloe. Just like the college Chloe when she announced that she had nodes; she doubted if Aubrey would understand, she was anxious about not being able to sing again, but she also hoped that she would be just fine, and it was because of her love to singing itself that she was willing to let herself hurt by the nodes as long as she could keep singing. This is like Chloe on the night at the campfire when she was in doubt about her future, anxious to graduate, but there was also a hope that she'd make it out just fine, and love, always love when it came to the Bella and her sisters. This is the Chloe Beca was in love with a long time ago.

The brunette can't help it when the smile on her face grows fonder. She's more than thankful that Chloe has become more and more like herself again. With her eyes fixed into her wife's, thumb still caressing her cheek, she softly says, "If I said that I could live without you, that would be a lie. You asked me how it would feel like if we had dated in college, well, I wouldn't know. But one thing I can tell you for sure, in case you didn't know, you had my heart, Chlo. It was yours a long time ago. So, don't die on me. You can't make me fall in love with you and then just die."

Again, with the semantics and technicalities in using words, but it is the truth. _"No, you're not lying to your wife, Mitchell."_ Beca thinks to herself. _"Because what you said is the truth, and you're not trying to deceive her either. You're simply sparing both of you from unnecessary fights, and sparing your wife from an unnecessary broken heart. This is better than saying in details_ _ **You did have my heart in college. It was all yours, wife. But now, you're sharing my heart with my ex fiancé. And she most likely still holds the bigger part of it**_ _._   _ **But I can't live without both of you.**_ _No, of course the other truth that you told her is much better. For both of you. This isn't lying; this is having faith in yourself and in your relationship. One day, hopefully soon, you'll be able to give her more than half a heart. Yea? Yea. Soon. You're falling for her, right? Right. So, soon. Reeaal soon hopefully."_

On the other hand, a huge rush of warmth blows through Chloe's chest like an explosion, and it brings tears into her eyes. Then she pulls the brunette into a tender kiss, trying to convey how deeply in love she is with her. After they break the kiss, she rests her forehead onto Beca's and says in barely a whisper, "I won't. We'll grow old together, Baby. I promise you."

Beca can't exactly tell how she's feeling for getting such response. Everything is mixed into one; her stomach flips, her chest flutters, yet there's a light tug in her heart. She's swoon and happy but also sorry at the same time. More swoon than sorry most likely, but happy is definite. Nevertheless, she nods and leans in to kiss her wife's forehead before she mumbles, "I love you, Chlo."

Still with her forehead pressed onto Beca's lips and her eyes closed, Chloe smiles and replies, "I love you too, Becs."

Then the redhead returns the favor whole heartily, slowly, savoring every seconds of making her wife writhing under her touch.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that would be chapter two. Confused with this two loves one heart kind of situation? Well, it will be explained in a couple of chapters.
> 
> It seems like Aubrey isn't entirely wrong to be suspicious, aye folks? And Beca is still a thickhead after all.
> 
> In the next chapter, we'll start with the day Beca and Chloe come back from the honeymoon. Until then, sit tight, and maybe make good choices :)
> 
> Oh, about the story behind Katy's song, I made it up. For the sake of the story. So, don't take it wrong. And about most addicts have to master the art of lying and manipulating, it's scientifically proven. One more thing. The stellar music taste part, I stole it from Brittany Snow's instagram. Guilty as charged.


	3. Piece by Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, we found out about Aubrey's reason, and how it's been straining her marriage with Stacie.  
> In this chapter, we'll start with Beca and Chloe coming back from their honeymoon, and this isn't a filler chapter. There will be talk, and compromise. I don't own Pitch Perfect, nor most of the characters. Don't want to prolong your waiting anymore, here we go. Hope you enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry, like, really sorry for the delay. I've been swamped with my thesis and work, and barely have time to sleep. I know, excuses, but... it's true. Hope this can make up for a while until the next chapter. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so patient and for the reviews :)
> 
> Ps. Just a kind reminder. Anything in this story is fictional unless mentioned otherwise in AN. So, if you find something that could offend you in any way, it's not directed to you personally or as a fan. It's simply for the sake of the story. I will explain further in the end note.
> 
> Pps. A bit of warning, we're starting with smut :P

 

**Two Weeks Later: After the Honeymoon**

_**Let's start with smut** _

They just step into the house, and Chloe is closing the door behind them. Beca just drops their suitcases onto the floor, and suddenly, she's being turned and pinned onto the wall by her wife, kissing her senselessly. She kisses back eagerly, pulling and drawing Chloe closer by the waist with one hand, while using the other hand to cup Chloe's jaw. Wanting to have the upperhand, the DJ flips their positions in a swift motion, and then she starts kissing Chloe down the neck. "You..." She sucks on Chloe's pulse point. "Have... no fucking idea..." She licks the bruise to soothe it. "How much I've fucking missed you..."

Chloe laughs lightly, but she's silenced when the brunette's hungry lips capture hers again. As Beca pushes a knee in between her thighs, she whimpers into the kiss and automatically grinds down, feeling the heat spread so fast all over her body, pooling in between her thighs.

Meanwhile, Beca is trying to unbutton the redhead's blouse. She finds it really hard because her hands are shaking, and her mind is clouded with Chloe's sultry moans.

"Just rip it off." Chloe mumbles against her wife's lips, her hands grasping her wife's brown locks tightly and messily. When the brunette is still stubbornly trying to undress her without any casualties, she grabs Beca tighter by the back of her head and groans in between bruising kisses, "Just- fucking- rip it!"

This time, the DJ complies, and she grabs the blouse's front and rips it harshly. The sound of buttons hitting the floor comes along with Chloe's deep moan. The brunette smirks on how well Chloe knows not to wear a bra on the day they got back from their sabbatical honeymoon. Instantly, Beca's hands find their way to caress her wife's breasts, nibbling and pinching the hardened nipples in between her fingers, squeezing them fully, making her wife jerk and cry at the same time.

"Becs..." Chloe pants, slipping words in between fiery kisses. "Can you- do you mind? I- I need you to go down... now."

Considering Chloe's comfort regarding the pregnancy, Beca pulls away slightly and breathes out, "I... I think we should move to the bedroom first."

"No." The redhead's voice is firm and heavy. "Down, here, now. I... I can't... Please..." She says in between biting down Beca's jawline.

A surge of heat shots down into the DJ's core from the bites, and her lips move to claim Chloe's again in a much more urgent kiss. Without breaking the kiss, she unbuttons the redhead's jeans and pushes it down along with the underwear while her lips trail down Chloe's chest, and then further down, until she's kneeling before Chloe. She spends a little longer planting gentle kisses all over Chloe's belly. "Be strong in there, okay, Peanut?" She mumbles onto her wife's soft belly. "Mommy is in a rush today."

Chloe can't help herself but chuckling out a breathy laughter while caressing the brunette's head over her stomach. She's panting heavily, her cheeks flushed, and her chest is bursting, spreading heat of joy and lust all at the same time.

Beca hovers her nose over the red curl. She breathes deep and long, wanting to take in how soft and sweet her wife's arousal scent.

The ghost of Beca's warm breath sends swirling sensation down in the redhead's stomach and center, making her clit throb achingly. Chloe is breathing heavily with her eyes closed, cheek pressed onto the wall, mouth wide open, hands grasping Beca's brown locks tightly. How could it be so easy for Beca's touch to ignite her into a bursting fireworks, she'll never know. She kicks her jeans and underwear frantically out of the way so she can spread her legs to give her wife more access in between her thighs.

Wanting to have all the angles, Beca lifts up Chloe's left leg onto her shoulder, pulling herself back a bit so the redhead can lean back onto the wall comfortably. Chloe automatically bends her left leg to wrap her wife by the shoulders, steadying and holding herself up with her right leg.

As the brunette's warm lips meet the soaked longer red curl under her navel, Chloe pleads with breathy voice,  _"Baby... please..."_

The DJ smirks and grabs Chloe's ass, pressing her tongue flat in a deliberate languid stroke onto the wet dripping folds of her wife, intoxicated in the scent that brings heat into her own core. Then she starts sucking on the hot soft flesh, nibbling the clit with the tip of her tongue along the way.

" _Oh, Baby..."_ The redhead jerks her hips erratically, her hands gripping her wife's brown locks even tighter to hold on, pushing herself back onto the wall. Her body is buzzing, trembling, aching for her wife's touche. Her legs have become wobbly, so she wraps her left leg around Beca's neck even tighter to keep herself up.

Meanwhile, with her hands holding the redhead's ass, Beca keeps on curling and twirling her tongue in and out of her wife's core, sucking on the hardened bundle of nerves, pulling out loud raspy incoherent moans from her wife's throat, who is chanting out her name repeatedly like a prayer. The brunette can feel that her own knees are starting to give up on her, but she just doesn't give a damn care.

It doesn't take long until Chloe jerks as the wave of pleasure rolls through her body, moaning and shaking with her hot aroused liquid sprayed all over the brunette's mouth and chest.

With a huge satisfied grin, the DJ pulls her head back a bit, glancing up at her breathless wife smugly. Then, trying to help her wife riding out the orgasm, Beca simply kisses the hot slick folds several times, ignoring her wife's essence that's dripping down her chin.

When Chloe's breathing has become steadier, Beca puts down her wife's leg and wipes her chin with her upper sleeve, still holding Chloe up by the left hip with one hand. After she feels like Chloe is steadier, the brunette slowly gets up, holding onto the wall beside her wife's body to crawl her way up since her knees are weak and wobbly from the kneeling.

As the brunette stands up, Chloe quickly clutches her shoulders tightly with both arms. To hold them both up, the DJ presses one hand onto the wall while her other hand is circling her wife's back, her lips presses onto Chloe's sweaty collarbone. "You okay?" 

Chloe nods before she swallows hard and breathes out, "U huh."

With a relieved sigh and smile, the DJ pulls back slightly, and Chloe doesn't waste any seconds to grab her face and kiss her fiercely.

A new surge of energy pulses through the DJ's body, and she returns the kiss with the same effort as she leads the redhead inside. Her sore and bruised knees forgotten, ignored, clouded by the urgent throbbing need in between her thighs.

They are pulling, pushing, dragging, leading, spinning, slamming each other on the way into the living room. It's kind of a surprise they can find the couch without looking around or stopping the kiss, undressing the still fully clothed brunette thoroughly along the hallway. Even so, Beca still tries to keep a bit of clear head to mind Peanut's safety all along the way because clearly, Chloe is not holding herself back at all.

Suddenly, the redhead is already lying on the couch, both legs and arms locked around her wife's small naked figure on top of her. "I... I need you in- inside me, Babe. But your fingernails..." She breathes out.

"Trimmed it before we got back this morning." Beca answers hurriedly as she strokes Chloe's core with the tip of her middle finger, showing that she has trimmed her fingernails.

Chloe moans,  _"God, Becs... you-"_ She's cut off as the DJ enters her.

When the brunette thrusts two fingers into her, Chloe arches her back and sobs automatically, dragging her fingernails down her wife's back. In that exact moment, a low long grunt comes out of Beca's throat, and it pulls Chloe's attention like a magnet. The redhead has never heard her wife make that kind of sound, and hearing that new foundly sound makes her shiver. She forces herself to open her eyes and look at Beca intently.

The DJ's eyes are closed, her back bent, her mouth wide open, her chest heaving, struggling to sip some air into her lungs. Yet her face, it's showing a relieved look, as if she's released. Obviously, the pain on her back drowns her into a deep pleasure, and she wants it again; she wants more pain, she  _needs_  more. Therefore, she builds the pace faster and deeper, slamming her knees behind her knuckles, reaching deeper, curling her fingers further into the redhead, while her lips and teeth hungrily latch on Chloe's breasts, one at a time.

Just as expected, Chloe's head falls back, her hips frantically jerk up and down along with each thrusts in her center and bites on her breast, following Beca's lead. Her mouth falls open as she grazes the back of Beca's shoulder with one hand, and the other hand digs into the side of Beca's hip, scratching hard with her unattended fingernails.

The pain draws out a deep low heavy curse from the pit of the DJ's stomach. God knows how she loves this kind of pain, and she's been waiting hungrily for her wife to do so for a long time. Combined with how loud Chloe is chanting her name along with lots of,  _"_ _oh yesh, Baby, yes, yes, oh, Baby... Bec- Becah, Bec-_ , _"_  it's safe to say, Beca is flying to the ninth cloud, high in arousal.

Chloe can feel it; every time she's dragging and digging her fingernails onto her wife's skin, it pulls out a different kind of reaction than usually. The grunt is lower, deeper; the pace is stronger; the hiss is sharper; and the sparks coming from Beca's face, God, how it hits Chloe like a shockwave and lightning bolt, making her tremble, digging into the soft flesh of her wife's back deeper, locking her legs tighter around her wife's waist to hold on. Then she comes hard; she can feel her hot essence wetting the couch under her ass, and a couple of seconds later, the brunette also comes.

Beca becomes stiff with her back arched and her chin up, a long deep grunt comes out of her chest, tearing her throat until the last dip of her breath, until her stomach shrinks deeply, until she's out of air, until her body bends lifelessly on top of her wife.

This is completely new for Chloe to see her wife come this way, this hard. She herself is still riding out the orgasm, but she can't take her eyes off of the brunette; the sparks pops out as the DJ climax like an explosion, her face falls open, red, shining, beaming, with sweat glimmering, trickling down her skin. All of those things give the redhead such a satisfaction, yet also a curiosity. Nevertheless, right now she just wants to sink into the bliss of orgasm she got. Therefore, she closes her eyes but still clinging to her wife tightly.

Beca is still bending on top of her wife, still breathing heavily, still shuddering, still clenching the couch with one hand, and the other hand is still tense in Chloe's core. However, some urgency pushes her to open her eyes and look at her wife's satisfied face. Just staring, not even moving a muscle, holding her breath, counting in her mind and waiting in silence. Waiting for the feeling of everything falls into its place to come, waiting for her heart to beat slower, that in the count of six, becomes the waiting in vain. She squeezes her eyes tightly and hisses out a light yet sharp, "Fuck." She had hoped that with this intense orgasm, the feeling of  _coming home_ would've followed. " _Not yet but soon, damnit!"_ She scolds herself.

Truthfully, the DJ wants nothing else more than just falls effortlessly onto her wife, but she's afraid to put too much weight to Peanut. Therefore, she's fine with just resting her forehead onto her wife's shoulder blade while holding herself up with one elbow beside her wife's head, trying to let the disappointment go with each breath of air, and slowly pulling her fingers out of her wife's core.

A light spasm rolls through Chloe's body along with the loss of contact, yet she can't complain due to the lack of oxygen in her lungs and brain at the moment.

_**End of smut** _

* * *

After she can already breathe more lightly, Chloe stares at her wife with puzzled look and asks, "Did you just..."

"Just what?" Just a breathy answer from the brunette who's still closing her eyes, her chest still raising and falling heavily.

"Come?"

"Yes..."

Chloe is indeed confused, because she's barely touched the DJ at all other than holding on dearly to her back. "Without-"

"Yes... yes..."

"But how? I didn't do anything at all."

"Just let me..." Beca is still gasping for air, and then she swallows hard. "Just let me... let me ride this one out first..."

Chloe barely moves her arms to pull the brunette closer, but Beca hurriedly says, pleads with low hoarse voice to be exact, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no... Don't move."

It certainly confuses the redhead more, but she does as she's told. She herself is still a bit shaking from the intense orgasm, and at some point her legs fall effortlessly onto the couch, yet Beca doesn't do anything to move away, to change their positions. For a while, they remain quiet, savoring the bliss of orgasms they just got, breathing in the air that's thickly filled with their aroused scent all over.

Honestly, riding out an orgasm isn't the only excuse for the DJ to stay in her position. She also needs to compose herself, to push the light tug of disappointment out of her mind before facing her wife. Feels like more than a long minute later until she drops herself to the space beside her wife, still with her eyes closed.

After turning on her side to look at the brunette, Chloe rubs the side of Beca's sweaty belly. She's not in a rush to push, but simply intrigued with this newly found side of her wife. Not that she complains; she'd never complain to see her wife this way, to  _make_  her wife become undone this way, but she wants to know, to find out. While trying to mask the curiosity on her face, she softly says, "I've never seen you come this way, Babe."

"We didn't have sex in two weeks." Beca answers with half the truth.

"But we were sabbatical for two months before, Baby. And you weren't like this the first time we actually made love. Besides, it's not like I did anything at all just now." The redhead states with curious look, yet the softness in her voice is showing, giving Beca the nudge that she needs to tell the whole truth.

After turning her head to look at the redhead, Beca lets out a deep sigh and says, "Promise you'll be open minded about it." When Chloe reassures her with a light nod, she turns around to show her back.

Chloe can see a lot of lines, long and short reddish lines, some even a bit bleeding. She lifts up her hands and sees some scratched skin under her fingernails. Then she automatically caresses the bleeding yet sweaty lines gently with her index finger, making her wife twitch a bit. "Oh Baby, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" She sounds deeply concerned.

Beca chuckles and wiggles her way around to face Chloe, slipping one leg in between her wife's. "Only in the most fucking awesome way."

"You liked it?" The redhead responds comically, surprised by the unexpected reaction.

"Like my life depends on it." The DJ grins. "Since when did you let your fingernails grow? You'd never done that before."

"Well, I work with kids. Can't be too careful when we play hide and seek, or tag. So, I'd always trimmed it. But within these last two weeks in the retreat, I didn't have time to do it."

"Don't ever trim it again." Beca says, her fingers absentmindedly drawing abstract lines on her wife's back. "Ever. Well, at least trim only two fingers or three." Then the satisfied look turns into a concerned one when she asks, "Are you okay with this?"

Looking amused yet confused, the redhead nods and asks, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"How?" Beca scoffs. "Hey, wife. I'm a freak who likes getting a little hurt to reach climax completely. So, hurt me please?"

"Baby..." Chloe frowns and cups her wife's cheek with one hand. "You're not a freak. This is completely normal."

Beca chuckles in relief, "Good to know."

"You should've told me."

Now Beca senses hurt in Chloe's voice. "Hey..." She strokes her wife's cheek gently with a thumb. "I'm sorry, it's my fault for not telling you earlier. Not yours. I was ashamed, not only with you, but with Ashley too."

"But why would you be ashamed?" Chloe frowns even deeper, her eyebrows drawn so tight in the middle of her forehead, hurt that her wife doesn't trust her enough. It isn't so much about Ashley, but more about how her wife seems to feel like she can't be trusted. "I'm your wife, Becs. This kind of thing is important in our marriage. If you could tell Ashley, you should've been able to tell me too."

"I didn't tell her." Beca softly says, still smiling lightly, still caressing the redhead's cheek to comfort her. "We found out together in our first time because she... scratched and bit. And believe me, I was more ashamed when we found out. It took times until I could make peace with my... unusual preferences."

For a couple of seconds, Chloe can only bite her bottom lip with a worried look. After huffing out a short nervous air through her mouth, she cautiously asks, "Did she... did Ashley let you feel like a freak for that? I- I mean, is that why you still think that it's not normal?"

"No, no, she didn't." The brunette explains hurriedly, trying to avoid making her wife misunderstand with her ex. "She was okay with this. The ashamed and freak part were all me, wife."

Chloe seems to be less upset when she responds, "I wished you could've told me sooner, Babe. I would've been okay too. I  _am_  okay about it."

With a relieved smile, the DJ explains, "Things like this take times to adjust, Chlo; to accept; to be comfortable with. It's not something you just put out to whoever you're with, no matter if you've already accepted it. This is a part of me that I myself denied and found it really hard to accept at first. And to just... lay it out in the open to another person, it's not easy to do. Don't get me wrong. I'm okay with it; I've been okay with it for a long time. But the thing is, not everybody could be okay with it. Like I said, I didn't want you to think of me as a freak. I mean, it's you, Chlo. And I value your opinion highly."

Chloe sighs with an understanding smile and reassures, "And like I said, there's no way I could ever think of you as a freak. I know you've only been with two women, and maybe that's why you don't know that this is completely normal."

"Thank you," Beca smiles in relief. "For not thinking that way."

"Does this have anything to do with you wouldn't let me do you the favor first?" The redhead asks ever so softly.

"I suppose so." Beca replies honestly, voice weak, lips twitched in a way that shows she's sheepish and feeling small, and her eyes are looking at just anywhere but her wife as she scratches her nose. "It's uh... a compensation for my ego. You know, I kind of like... have to be a dominant to... you know, compensate for my vulnerability. Because you know, I pride myself as  _the_  guy in the relationship. And needed to be... you know, hurt, it makes me feel uh... weak and inadequate."

Now the pieces have come together. Chloe finally understands why her wife has always insisted to do the favor first, and why she has always given more than letting herself get them in return. With an understanding smile, the redhead scoots closer, flushing their bare bodies tightly, pressing her lips so hard onto her wife's before she softly says, "I love you no matter what, Babe. And you're not weak nor inadequate for having a bit of off line's preferences in sex."

Beca returns the smile and replies, "Okay."

"But uh..." The redhead trails before biting her bottom lip, forehead wrinkled showing that she's nervous, because she herself doesn't know how far she can take  _that_  kind of thing. Not that she won't learn to accept it if her wife needs much more; she just needs to prepare herself if that's the case. "Do you need more? You know... maybe some equipment? 50 shades of grey's red room kind of equipment?"

The DJ is confused for a second, and after having a comprehension of what her wife is talking about, she barks out a loud laughter. "No, God no! Tried it once, and never again. Ever!"

"You did?" Chloe asks comically, feels so relieved by the revelation.

With a grin so bright, Beca tells her story animatedly as she nods and says, "When I said Ashley was okay about my... preferences, I said it out of real experience." When her wife shots her a puzzled look, she elaborates, "Ashley and I tried to broad our horizon once, and she bought a whip. A, fucking, whip! Can you believe that?!" She exclaims through a bubble of laughter. "I was like,  _what the fuck, dude?_ And she was like,  _we'll never know unless we try. And you know what people said; don't knock it until you try it._ And then I said,  _okay, weirdo..."_ She crinkles her nose through her childlike grin. "Then she whipped my back once, gently, and I was like,  _meh._ Then she whipped me again, a bit harder, and I told her,  _are you even fucking trying?_ And then she whipped me so hard, and I-" She barks out a loud laughter. "I cried,  _motherfuckeeeer!_  I... I fucking, literally cried and cursed, roll- rolling on the bed to hold the sting, cried and cursed, cried and cursed." She manages in between laughter, and surprisingly, Chloe laughs along with her. "And... and she laughed... she laughed so hard, rolling on the bed holding her stomach, she laughed so hard until she cried... And I... I cried until I laughed with her."

Both of them are so lost in a laughter, holding your side of stomach kind of laughing. After the laughter unwind and they are wiping the joyful tears away, Beca, still grinning, says, "No, it didn't feel good at all. It fucking hurt like hell. Since then, we knew that I only needed what she got in her body to climax. So, no need some special equipment, wife. Especially not for 50 shades of grey's red room kind of equipment."

"Oh, thank God." Chloe chuckles in relief.

"Yeah, thank God." Beca laughs, and then she realizes that her wife seems to be okay talking about Ashley. It looks like, for the first time ever, talking about Ashley becomes easier for the redhead to bear. Somehow, finding out that talking about her past doesn't hurt her wife as much as before brings her relief. She automatically hugs the redhead even tighter and kisses her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," replies Chloe ever so fondly.

For a while, nobody says anything. All they do is staring into each other's eyes, their legs tangled lazily, brushing onto each other's absentmindedly. Although they are giggling lightly from the ticklish sensation, nobody mentions anything about scratchy legs because of two weeks without shaving, and so far, it's the same with the other hairy regions of their body. Then with a smile so soft, Beca tucks a strand of red hair behind Chloe's ear and says, "Something's different with you today."

"Different how?" Chloe whispers while caressing Beca's arm up and down with her knuckles.

After letting out a long contented sigh, the DJ says, "We just talked about my past with Ashley, something private, yet there's no wrinkle in your forehead, no subtle curl down by the corner of your lips, and your eyes, they're still as bright as usual. You didn't even stubbornly argue with me about what she did like you usually did before."

Chloe's taken by surprise. She herself doesn't really pay any attention to those things, and it gets her thinking. Truth to be told, she doesn't have any explanation herself. With half shoulder raised, she says, "I'm not sure, but I did tell you that I should get over my jealousy. And I'm trying. Besides, maybe having six months of therapy and two weeks of full mindfulness are working so well on me."

"I think so," says the brunette while caressing, drawing a circle on Chloe's hipbone. After a couple of seconds considering what she's about to convey, Beca takes a deep breath and mutters, "I was there, you know. I know how it felt like to be insecure of my partner's past; to be jealous of my partner's ex."

Chloe's wide eyes confirm that she's surprised from the sudden revelation. Thankfully, since her prefrontal lobes have been working so fine lately, she could think more clearly. She knows that she should take this moment as a chance to find out about Beca's past even more, to make her open up even though it probably won't be easy for herself to hear about the story. This is her window to peek into the brunette's life, to know more, to gain more trust. She wants, no, she  _needs_  to show that Beca can tell her everything, and that she can take it no matter what. Therefore, after taking a deep determined breath, she asks, "You do?"

Upon seeing that her wife doesn't mind, the DJ nods and explains, "U huh. I met Ashley when she was only 23, but she'd already dated several times with men. I was her first girlfriend, and it was hard on me. I mean, with all of the harsh comments from her fans on the internet, and the media had put out how unworthy I was for her; the unknown emo alt girl who had just started dating  _the_  Ashley Benson. Compared to her exes, only by my appearances that the paparazzi caught one time or two, needless to say, it was easy to make an assumption that I was a bad person and didn't deserve her at all. You don't know that the rare appearance of me going out with Ashley, I almost always got yelled at by at least a fan on the street."

"Yelled at?" Chloe looks at her in disbelief. "Really? That bad?"

"U huh." Beca nods. "Like I told you when we were about to release our duet. Fans could be... overly protective, especially when a stranger got in between the couple they ship. Well, some of them anyway. Not all of them. The hardcore shippers of Tyler and Ashley in the series, or to be precise, the Haleb; Hanna and Caleb's hardcore shippers, they were furious. It's completely understandable. Because, well, Haleb is love and life. Even Ashley is a Haleb's shipper. She was so upset, and she cried for days when the writers broke Hanna and Caleb up in season seven. It was like she broke up with Tyler in real life."

"And you were okay with that?" Chloe is again, taken aback. "I mean, her crying over a scripted broken relationship?"

Beca chuckles and answers, "The first half seventh season was filmed a year ago, and I had been dating Ashley for more than four years by then. Seeing her crying while talking to Tyler over the phone about the break up in the script, I just laughed at her. In the beginning of our relationship though, the few insults from the fans combined with how the media had pictured me, wanted me to be a bad person, it was enough to spike my anxiety off the roof. Thankfully, Tyler is a good guy. Other than Troian and Shay, he's the closest cast to Ashley, and he was being so supportive with our relationship. But still, it was hard not to compare myself to him and Ashley's exes, not to feel like I wasn't enough, not to feel insecure if I could treat her better, love her better, even though she always said that I was enough. And I didn't even have any social medias that her fans could've used to bring me down. Imagine if I had one. The amount of insults that my messed up mind could've used to destroy me. Fear and insecurities... they're the most toxic things in a relationship, especially since I was naturally paranoid if she'd ever leave or cheat on me, thanks to Warren." She ends with an eye roll.

"How did you deal with it then?" The redhead asks softly while absentmindedly caressing her index finger on Beca's collarbone.

"Like an ass." Beca chuckles out. "At first, I tried to hold it in; the frustration, the anger, the anxiety, the insecurities, and it ate me up bit by bit. So, I made up my mind to have my first time with her, thinking, hoping that it would ease my insecurities. And it worked. The sex was amazing." Her mind automatically and silently adds,  _"She_   _was amazing,_ " before she continues talking, "But my insecurities had so much power over me, and it didn't take long until all of the pent up emotions came back, and slowly, it seeped into our relationship like a venom."

Without saying anything, Chloe just rubs the brunette's arm gently, giving her a sign to keep going, that she's okay with listening to the story.

Beca takes a deep breath and continues, "Around six months after we started officially dating, a month after we had our first time, I started to complain. I complained about the amount of people who flirted with her, I complained about the intimate scenes in PLL, I complained about the gossip of her relationship with her exes, and most of the times, I complained about how her fans hated me. I complained, I complained, I complained. She was patient at first. She knew I was just insecure and paranoid. So, she tried to reassure me by joking it away, even sang ridiculously to  _They Don't Know_ by Ariana. It didn't work. Two months after I started complaining, I became more upset everyday, and she couldn't take it anymore. So, she yelled at me. And we fought, and we fought, and we fought. And since I was going on tours, we fought over texts, we fought over phone calls and video calls, we fought face to face in the little time we had for spending together. We just fought almost every day for like four months when I was in tours."

Chloe listens closely. Dealing with an insecure person is tiring and draining, and she understands how hard it must've been for Ashley. She herself had the same experience with Kristen. Her ex fiancé was also insecure, paranoid, and overly jealous. She remembers it well how unhappy she was when Kristen was being overly jealous and possessive, and she swore that she'd never be like that. It was before though. But now, now she has understood why Kristen was passive aggressive and possessive in their relationship. Apparently, being with someone who you believe you love more than she loves you back, it could bring the worst out of a person.

Being with Beca makes Chloe feel and do the same because Chloe feels like she's not good enough compared to Ashley. Not only because she knew that Ashley saved Beca from herself, or the fact that they were once engaged, but also because there was a time where Beca chose Ashley over her. Two times actually; the first one was when Beca told her that she chose Ashley, and the second time was when the night terror happened. Moreover, before Beca decided to marry her, all evidences showed her that Beca had loved Ashley more than her. In conclusion, Ashley was a huge threat for her. In some way, she still is.

Therefore, in this relationship, Chloe's the one struggling with insecurities and jealousy. It's hard on her because she usually isn't this insecure, isn't this possessive. Not even with Kristen, let alone with Nicholas; her boyfriend when she was still in the peace corp. Nevertheless, listening to her wife's revelation, it helps her to start opening her eyes about her own situation.

"It was hard on us." The DJ keeps on going slowly, and a slight subtle frown creeps across her face. "When fighting me didn't work either, she started ignoring my complaints, hoping that it would stop me from complaining. It should've with normal people. Not with me, apparently. I just couldn't stop. I could see that she was so tired of dealing with my insecurities, and I could feel that she was on the rope. But I couldn't help myself, and I kept going. I didn't do it in purpose, but my insecurities dictated my subconscious. Harley's words, not mine."

Chloe simply smiles understandingly, because she felt the same way in the first couple of months of their relationship. How grateful she is now that she agreed to get the therapy in less than two months into their relationship. If she hadn't, she herself wouldn't be so sure if Beca would've stayed this long. She had stayed with Kristen because her ex fiance was so sweet and romantic when not being possessive and passive aggressive. In addition, Chloe had no doubt that Kristen truly loved her, and her ex fiance wasn't hiding from anybody or hiding from her past like Beca. Only thinking about being lied to, kept in the dark by someone you love for years seems to be impossible to accept for the redhead.

Now that Chloe thinks more about it, if Ashley had to deal with Beca's insecurities, not to mention dealing with not fully knowing who she was really with for two years, no wonder at all Ashley had decided to leave before the brunette opened up and got into a therapy. "What made her stay, Babe?" She asks softly without a hint of judgement in her voice.

"I don't really know." The DJ shakes her head with a bitter smile, thinking if she can make Ashley stay this time. "You need to ask her that to find out her reason. It's still a mystery for me how you and her could stand me."

With a fond smile, Chloe says, "Well, I don't know about Ashley. But for me, the first time I saw you, you were wandering at the quad, alone, but you have this vibe. This... magnet. I just... I was pulled in by your gravity. And then we started to talk about acapella, and I was like,  _who is this person? How could she be snarky and attractive all at the same time?_  But the seal is, the seal is when I heard your voice in the bathroom. And we harmonized, it was so perfect, and that was it. I knew that I wanted you. I had fallen for you. Then I saw you at audition, the way you sang and maneuvered the cup, I was completely sure that I had to have you no matter what. And now I do."

Beca chuckles, "That's it? You only needed to see me being snarky, and then hear me singing naked?"

"U huh." The redhead nods excitedly, beaming so brightly. "Absurd, I know. But it's true. That's why I sang  _I knew I Loved You_  to propose. Because I did. I just knew. You were made for me. We're meant to be together, Becs."

The only thing the brunette can do is smiling back at her wife, and then Chloe continues, "So, back to your story. Ashley endured your full blown insecurities for two years until you got into the therapy?"

"No, thankfully no." The brunette chuckles out. "Around two weeks before our first anniversary, I got back from a tour, and I picked her up from the set. I think it was around 01.00 AM. Yea, our schedule was crazy. We started it fine with a kiss, and then in the car, I started questioning her about the amount of guys who flirted with her when I was away, about if there was any intimate scenes that day, and she ignored me, looking so annoyed when she turned on the radio loudly, and I shut my mouth. I was upset, angry, but I was also terrified. Even so, the stubborn part of me turned off the radio, and I could hear her click her tongue in annoyance."

"Did she threaten to leave you?" Chloe asks cautiously.

"I thought she would." The DJ softly says, her eyes seem to look so far away through the redhead's bright blue eyes, reminiscing the memory.

* * *

_**Flashback** _

The drive was spent in silence; an intense one. Even after they had arrived in front of Ashley's apartment building, they hadn't said anything to each other but simply staring out the windshield. Therefore, Beca had thought that Ashley wouldn't have wanted her to stay the night.

After a long moment of silence, Ashley huffed and said, "Come inside."

Taken aback, the DJ turned to look at her then girlfriend with wide eyes. She could see Ashley rolling her eyes before saying, "I'm freakishly tired, but we obvs need to talk.  _I,_ need to talk to you."

Beca was indeed horrified, terrified, thinking that Ashley was going to break up with her.  _"Shit! This is it. She's had enough of me."_ Funny how she had spent her whole life convincing herself that nobody would stay with her, that in the end she was the one who did her best to prove herself right. Yet when the moment came, she was still shocked.  _"What did you fucking expect her to do? Nobody would fucking stay with anybody who's pushed them fucking away. People got fucking tired, you fucking asshole."_ This was her own doing; pushing Ashley to the breaking point. She wanted to bolt, to run away, to not face this situation; being left. She was so wrapped up in her own mind that all she could was staring at the blonde while panicking inside.

Half a minute later when the DJ hadn't said anything, the blonde added sharply, "I'm not gonna wait all night for you to answer." She undid her seatbelt. "Come with me, or don't bother coming back tomorrow. We're having this talk tonight." With that, she got out of the car and walked right into the building without waiting for Beca.

The slammed of the car door pulled Beca out of her stupor, and she hurriedly put on her beanie and a huge sunglasses. Even though it was past midnight, she couldn't risk getting caught by paparazzi. After making sure that her hair was tucked under the beanie, she stumbled out of the car, handling the car key to the security for valley, and then rushed to follow Ashley, not even bothered to get her luggage in the trunk.

Once they were in the blonde's apartment, Beca took off her disguise and trailed Ashley into the living room slowly.

"Wait here." The blonde commanded, and the brunette simply sat down on the couch.

Ashley came back from the kitchen with two glasses of lemon water, and she handed one to Beca. She sat down on the couch across from the brunette, and then took a long sip of her drink.

Meanwhile, the DJ just watched her closely, still waiting.

"Drink." Ashley ordered firmly as she put down her then an empty glass on the coffee table. "You're gonna need to hydrate."

Without saying anything, Beca did as she was told. She sipped her water slowly until the glass was empty. Then she put down the glass onto the coffee table too. She had barely moved back to her prior sitting position on the couch when Ashley spoke up.

"Listen, Beca."

The real name calling was dreading. No Babe, no Becs, no Moz, no Astro Boy, no anything else but Beca.

_"This is fucking bad."_ Beca thought to herself, clasping her hands tightly together in between her knees.

If Ashley had noticed the fear in the DJ's eyes, she didn't say anything about it but kept on going, "Like I said. I'm freakishly tired. I'm tired of fighting with you, I'm tired of the complaints, and frankly, I'm tired of staying in this relationship."

That was it. No precaution, no consolation, not even an apology, but a straight forward truth.

"I..." The DJ's throat was clamping shut, and she had to clear it before she confessed, "I'm scared." She was shaking by then, overwhelmed for trying to hold herself back from crying. Her throat tasted like tears, and her knuckles turned white as she grasped her hands too tightly around each other. She had hoped that seeing her like that would have made Ashley come to hug her. However, it was a wistful thinking.

Instead, she was told, "Do you think I don't know that? In case you haven't realized, you've been using it as an excuse since the beginning of our relationship."

Ashley's voice was sharp, disbelieved, mocking in anger, but Beca, who was staring at the coffee table, could sense that it was also a bit quivering.

"You were scared of falling in love with me, you were scared to open yourself up to me, and this time, you said you're afraid that you wouldn't be good enough for me, even though I've told you over and over again for hundreds of times that you were."

"Were?" The brunette looked up at her girlfriend in horror.

"Yes, were." Ashley answered convincingly without any hesitation. "Up until you started to act like a demanding jealous asshole. You've been demanding me to tell you about my past, but you'd get upset about it. You've been demanding me to tell you about my day, forcing me to tell you every single unnecessary details about it, and in a way, I feel like you've been pushing me to give you the answer that you wanted, even though it could be not the truth. As long as it would work in your favor."

"I'm sorry." Beca said with shaky voice. "I'm just-"

"Scared." Ashley rolled her eyes in annoyance, her hands waving fiercely around as she talked. "You think that being scared could've justified how shitty you've been acting? You think that saying I'm sorry could've magically solved everything in our relationship?" She scoffed. "Not with me, Beca. I don't take shit from people. I know you're scared that I'd leave, and it's okay to be scared as long as you don't act like an asshole for it, but doing what you're doing isn't a way to make me stay. I'm not the kind of person who'd do that. I don't have that kind of patience. If you push me to the point that I'm fed up, I'll leave. You can count on it. And I'm gonna be honest with you. Right now, I'm so close from walking away."

Beca's pride took the best out of her. After her apology was getting rejected, after her crumbling defense was being ignored, she then straightened up and firmly retorted with upset look, "Then why aren't you?"

It didn't even take a second for Ashley to reply just as firmly, "Not yet."

Beca was indeed confused, and Ashley explained, still with hardened look, "Yes, I'm tired of you hanging my past and the things that we can't change or control over my head and our relationship. I hate that you're so maddening to be in love with. But the bottom line is, I love you anyway. I do. So, I want this relationship to work."

Feeling a bit relieved from the love revelations, the brunette sunk into the couch, her tense shoulders became relax.

"I will,  _and I have_ worked for this relationship." The blonde continued. "But I need you to work with me. I can't, and I won't work alone just to make you feel safe. No way. I don't believe in unconditional love, especially when the person I'm trying to love is acting like an asshole. I don't love anybody unconditionally. I believe in working and changing ourselves to be better for the people we love. So, if you want me to stay in love with you, prove me that you're worth to be loved."

At that moment, although the love revelations had given her some relief, Beca didn't know what to say to justify herself, and looking at Ashley's unreadable face was not helping at all with her nerves. Therefore, she felt like she needed to let Ashley know that she was feeling the same. "I love you too." She muttered, staring at the blonde with sad and hurt look. "So much. And I want this to work too."

It was obvious for the brunette how Ashley's hard demeanor crumbled a little bit. Her bright blue eyes were a bit glimmering from a thin layer of tears, and her bottom lip was a bit trembling. Then Ashley cleared her throat, putting her hardened face back on and sternly asked, "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean am I sure?" The DJ was indeed offended by the not so subtle accusation.

Still with the stern look, Ashley said, "If your definition of working a relationship is by pushing someone to lie to you just to keep your ego safe, making someone break apart little by little without any intention to make them whole again just to save yourself, then you're choosing the wrong person to fall in love with; to be in a relationship with. Because me, I won't lie to you about my past, about how many people who flirt with me in, about the people I met, about my job just so you could feel a false sense of safety temporarily. You know why? Because it would mean that I have to lie to myself too. Over and over again until I would have nothing left to save myself. I had once been that kind of fool, and I won't ever be that fool again. Not for anybody. Not anymore."

Somehow, Beca suddenly understood that this anger also came from the blonde's experience in the past. It made her realize something that somehow could ground her; Ashley was talking about the guy who had cheated on her, who had made her feel like she had to make herself small to be loved. Slowly, she got up and closed the space between them, taking a seat next to Ashley. Cautiously, she slipped her left hand's fingers in between Ashley's right ones, gripping them gently on Ashley's right thigh. Although Ashley didn't pull her hand back, she also didn't look at the brunette.

Nevertheless, the DJ softly, apologetically said, "I know this doesn't mean much for you right now, but I really am sorry." When Ashley looked at her with brimming eyes, she reassured, pleaded, "I'm terribly sorry... And I love you, okay? I just... I don't know how to love you without... without my heavy baggage of fear. But I do love you." She kissed Ashley all over the face, cupping Ashley's cheek with her free hand, saying in between kisses, "I love you, I love you, I love you. I do, I do, I do."

Right then, Ashley started to sob, and she hugged Beca tightly, hiding her face in the crook of Beca's neck. "The- then do- don't make me brea- break up with you..." She had choked out in between sobs, her shoulders heaving erratically. "Don't make me lie to you... a- and lying to myself... P- please don't..."

Just like that, Beca knew it, and she was moved, right into Ashley's everything, completely. She could feel the shift in herself; her mind, her feelings, her heartbeat. Just like she did back at the hospital a little over a year ago, but stronger this time.

"I'm sorry if I've hurt you like he did." The brunette said quietly while holding Ashley, pressing her cheek onto Ashley's crown. "I wouldn't have done it if I could help it. And I won't cheat on you, Ash. Not in a million years. Just talk to me. Tell me what I should do to fix this; to fix us. I swear I will do my fucking best to work on it; to make myself better; to make us better."

The only thing Ashley did then was nodding weakly, still with her face in the crook of Beca's neck. Half an hour later, eventually her tears subsided, and she pulled away to wipe the tears on her face.

Even with reddish face, messy damp hair, swollen eyes and lips, and tears tainted cheeks, Beca still found how mesmerizing and beautiful Ashley was. She smiled fondly and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Ashley's ear before kissing her warm swollen lips gently, which was rewarded with a smile into the kiss from her girlfriend.

After she had composed herself, Ashley stared at the DJ and said with hoarse voice, "You want to keep your past from me for yourself, that's fine. As long as you don't lie to me about who you are, I won't push you to open up. For now. But I think you should reveal your real identity to the public."

"Why?" The brunette blurted out, her body automatically pulled back slightly. She was again, scurried back into the scary land in her mind. "How revealing my real identity would help fixing our relationship?"

Ashley took a deep breath and explained, "Because if you do, then I could parade you to the whole world through my social medias. I could tell them all that I'm crazily in love with Beca Mitchell, the badass DJ and musical prodigy who has mixed and produced so many of their favorite songs; not this emo unknown girl who dresses like a criminal on the run."

Beca chuckled at that, and the blonde was visibly relieved. She grinned, taking both of Beca's hands into hers as she softly continued, "We could date openly. No more hiding, no more dating in disguise. We could show them how happy we're together and with each other, Babe. With that, hopefully people wouldn't dare to flirt with me out of fearing you and would stop harassing you. What do you think about it?"

There was no immediate answer from the DJ, but a contemplating look was showing on her face.

_**End of flash back** _

* * *

It was similar with the talk they had after Beca came back from running away in mid December last year. Chloe remembers their talk that day; the day Beca confided how tired she was but she wanted this relationship to work. The redhead feels so grateful that Beca has grown more mature to open up when they started their relationship. Kristen and her never had that kind of talk. Kristen was too proud to admit her weakness, that she was insecure. Well, not until the moment they broke up anyway. "And?" She offers a small smile.

"I did." Beca says, still with contemplative look. "After a lot of discussion and preparation with my publicists, Donna, Harvey, and Ashley, I came out a month later in a press conference. And she was right. It lifted so much of my burden, and the amount of people who flirted with her became less, and after finding out that I was DJ M and my work, the fans cooled down." She smirks. "Well, DJ M was a genius. She was so famous and many of Ashley's fans loved DJ M too."

"She was." Chloe confirms cheerfully. "A genius, and very famous. I loved her mixes."

Beca wiggles her eyebrows playfully with a smirk so smug, and then she adds, "Though there were also some other side effects of it."

"You started to have night terrors again." The redhead softly concludes.

"Yea, that. And another thing."

"Huh?"

Beca snorts and answers, "After I came out, I did tours and DJ-ing gigs in open booth. Turns out, women dig my music and my badass appearance. All of the sudden, the table was turned. Ashley was the one who got overly jealous from the amount of women who threw themselves at me. The way she showed that I was hers, by marking her territory in front of other women, it was..." She laughs at the memory lightly. "And I felt relieved. It settled me; knowing that I wasn't the only one who could feel jealous and insecure in our relationship; getting a prove that I wasn't the only one who was scared of losing her; that she was afraid of losing me too."

"And you started to fight again because she was jealous?"

"No, we didn't." The DJ smiles coyly. "I'd just laugh at her every time she was complaining, and she'd pout and slap my arm. And we started to have so many make up and angry sex. It helped. Other than that, I learnt to trust her, did my best to love her, to treat her better, to not make her exes as a big deal, to let go of the fact that her work must include so many intimate scenes, and to ignore the residual hatred from her fans. And she did the same. We talked it out one day at a time. Baby steps. I took her to see mom's grave to introduce them officially, I went to the set when I wasn't working, and she came to my gig when she was on a break. And having the same circle of friends did help a lot. We always hung out with the same people. Over times, we got used to it, and we got over our insecurities."

"And you stopped being jealous all at once?"

"Nope." Beca pops the P. "It still came back from time to time, just not in the same intensity. I've told you the story when I lived in London for half a year, there was a gossip of her cheating on me with Shay, and I blew up. Because it was Shay, and Shay had been in love with her since forever, and they were best friends. Still are."

Chloe nods slowly several times, and they remain silent for a while until Beca gently break the silence, "Soooo, this got me back to my purpose of talking about this. I get it that you feel jealous with Ashley, especially since she's not only an ex but also a best friend for me."

"Hmmm..." Chloe is still nodding absentmindedly, letting the story sink into her mind as a lesson. A part of her feels like Beca and her are going forward, growing together in this relationship; she isn't as upset as before for talking about Ashley, and she gets to know her wife better. However, she can't deny that it still hasn't erased even half of her insecurities and jealousy instantly.

The brunette takes a deep breath, smiling as she caresses her wife's cheek gently. "A kiss for your thought?"

With a worried smile, Chloe asks, voice so small that shows how afraid she is with the answer, "Should I be worried about you and Ashley?"

Beca is caught off guard, and she becomes tongue tied for a moment. Almost three weeks ago, she slept with Ashley in the same bed, and she almost kissed her. So, now she repeats her wife's question in her mind,  _"Should Chloe be worried about Ashley and me?"_  How to answer a question that she herself doesn't have the answer to? Heat of anxiety starts raising up from her stomach, spreading fast to the tip of her fingers, flashing in between hot and cold under her skin.

Therefore, she starts counting her breath in a 3-1-5 sequence with her eyes closed. Out of nowhere, the memory of her honeymoon with Chloe comes into her mind. In the last two weeks, it was torturous for her. They were training to improve their self-control, to delay their impulse, and obviously, having sex was not permitted. Moreover, since it was a noble silence retreat, they were advised not to talk at all, not to have any bodily contact, and even to avoid eye contact. In conclusion, it wasn't a honeymoon at all. They were sabbatical again for two whole weeks.

Thinking back to the time they were sabbatical for two months before the wedding, and Beca could get by just fine, two weeks weren't supposed to be hard at all. However, after finding out about the pregnancy, Beca's feelings have changed, and the urge to be close to her pregnant wife is unbearable for her. One night she could endure, but two weeks? She wouldn't have chosen to go to this retreat if she had known beforehand how hard it would be. In the last two weeks, she missed making love to her wife, she missed kissing her wife, she missed breathing in her wife's soft scent, she missed spooning her wife into sleep, she missed talking to her wife, she missed talking to her wife's belly, she missed holding her wife's hand, and hell, she was dying for missing looking into her wife's bright blue eyes.

One evening, just three days after they started the retreat, Beca saw her wife meditate near the small pond alone, and she herself was sitting on the other side, across from the redhead. How she wanted to trace Chloe's smiling lips with her thumb, to rub her belly and talk to their baby, and she almost couldn't hold herself back. However, she knew how important this mindfulness practice for her wife, and by association, it was important for peanut too. So thankfully, she was able to hold her horse, and she decided to have some mindful hiking instead to let off the steam.

Sure, Ashley has never left her mind. Ashley is constantly in her mind, and it's something natural and automatic for her. It's nothing new for Beca. However, missing Chloe that way, craving to be close to Chloe that much, it's new for the adult Beca, and she welcomes that feeling. In fact, she loves missing her wife so much that it hurts. For her, it's like a prove that she's falling in love even more.

"Babe?"

Chloe's soft voice pulls her out of her mind, and Beca opens her eyes slowly. Upon seeing the redhead's concerned look, she smiles and trails her index finger's knuckle on her wife's cheek, sliding her hand up so she can slip her fingers in between the radiant red locks. "No." Her voice is firm and reassuring. "You don't need to worry at all. I love you, and I'm happy with you, especially now that we're expecting Peanut. I won't do anything that can ruin our happiness, Chlo. But..." She lets out a sigh, looking hesitant when she continues, "Ashley... yea, she's my ex, but she's also more than that. For me, she's also still a best friend. A very good friend. And uh... things aren't good between me and her now, but uh... I want her to stay in my life, Chlo. I hope you will be okay with that at some point, especially since she and I will be spending a lot of time preparing our best friends' wedding. I'm Patrick's best man, and she's Troian's maid of honor."

This is dilemmatic for Chloe. Can she get over her jealousy if she has to see her wife interacting with Ashley in daily life? Can she ever be okay with her wife staying friends with Ashley? Won't she feel even more jealous? More insecure? Dealing with a past is one thing, but dealing with a continuing past is another. And the most important question would be, will Beca be able to hold herself back from cheating on her if it's with an ex fiancé? There's no way to answer those questions right in this moment, and she can only sigh heavily.

Beca seems to see through her insecurities, because she gives her a reassuring smile and softly says, "Chlo, you're my wife, and soon we'll have a baby. Both of you are the most important thing in my life right now. But my friends; Harvey, Donna, Patrick, Troian, and Ashley, they are also important in my life. Please don't make me choose between our marriage; our family, with my friends."

Seeming a bit upset, the redhead pulls backward a bit and asks, "Because you'll choose them over me?"

"No." The DJ says without any hesitation yet also with a soothing voice, holding Chloe even tighter. "There's no question about whom I'll choose if it ever comes down to it. If you ask me to choose between you and my friends, as unhappy as I will be for losing my best friends, I will choose you. I will always choose you and our baby. I have chosen you before, and I will do it again." It's the truth. She loves Chloe, and there's no way Beca will ever abandon Chloe, especially since Chloe is pregnant with their baby. There's no way she will ever leave Peanut the way her father had left her and her mother when she was only a kid.

Chloe spends the next ten seconds looking into her wife's steely blue eyes, chewing her bottom lip nervously, searching for any signs of insincerity, dishonesty, or hesitancy, yet she can't find any. Still looking worried, she asks, "Really?"

With a calming smile, a smile that can ease the storm in Chloe's chest, the DJ says honestly, "Really. Do you want me to choose?" When Chloe remains quiet, Beca can feel her heartbeat pick up its pace. Truth to be told, she is terrified, dreaded if her wife would ask her to leave her friends, even though her face shows nothing else but calmness. She'll fulfill her promise for sure if she has to, but it will be very very hard to live with. The seconds pass by so painstakingly slow for her, and she's not aware that she's holding her breath.

It takes Chloe another ten seconds to make up her mind, considering that Beca has fulfilled the promise to repair the bond with the Bellas, and it's only fair if she's willing to do the same with her wife's friends. Besides, Beca did the same thing when she chose Ashley; Beca had wanted to stay friends with her.  _"A relationship, it's a two way street."_ She remembers Beca's words, and it reminds her that, she should be willing to try for their relationship too, just as much as she wants Beca do in return. Therefore, she shakes her head lightly and answers, "No."

Beca sighs in relief, and it's so obvious that her wife can see it.

Oddly, Chloe herself feels lighter, most likely for seeing that she's not hurting her wife. "I don't want to make you unhappy, Becs." She smiles fondly. "I love you, and I want us to be happy. And for us to be happy together, I know I have to trust you. But I can't promise that I won't feel jealous at all with Ashley, and I can't promise that it won't become a problem from time to time. I mean, she's your ex fiancé, and you loved her so much to the point that you'd wanted to have a family with her. It counts for a lot of things. So, I need you to promise, to swear, that you will never ever cheat on me. With her or with anybody else. I need you to promise that you'll never betray my trust, and that you will always put Peanut and me first. Above dan beyond anything and anybody else."

The _never betray my trust_ part knocks the air off Beca's lungs, and saying  _promise_ directly doesn't sit right with her. The memory of her getaway to the beach house last year and her sleeping in the same bed with Ashley three weeks ago flash across her mind. In addition, seeing how understanding her wife is, it's getting harder to not tell the truth. However, she's torn. She's afraid that no matter what she'd say, Chloe will misunderstand.

" _Don't be stupid, Mitchell."_ Beca scolds herself in her mind.  _"What if you tell the truth, hoping that it will show that you're trustworthy for telling the truth, but she asks for a divorce and doesn't let you see peanut for the rest of your life? You don't want to lose them, right? Right. You can't."_

There's no way Beca can live with herself if Chloe chooses to leave her. The possibility of losing her wife and not being able to even see her kid being born terrify her so badly. Even if Chloe doesn't leave, Beca is more than sure that her wife will resent her, and even hate her. No, she loves Chloe too much to be resented in their marriage.

" _Nothing happened three weeks ago, Mitchell."_ The DJ tries to reassure herself.  _"Literally nothing. You didn't have sex with Ashley. You_ _ **only almost**_ _kissed her, but nothing happened. You didn't cheat on your wife. Well, not physically anyway. Can't stop your heart from loving who you love, right? Right. As long as you don't follow it. But technically, physically, you didn't cheat on your wife. And like Harvey said; what she doesn't know can't hurt her. Why would you complicate your marriage and hurt your wife over nothing, right? Right. So, no need to tell her the truth. Because_ _ **nothing**_ _happened, right? Right. Just make sure that you won't do such stupid things like almost kissing your ex fiancé ever again. And about what happened in the beach house, it was way before you got married, before you fell back in love with Chloe, and she hadn't become your wife yet. So, it doesn't count as cheating, right? Right. So, what do you say now? You say promise. Right, promise. Say promise, Mitchell."_

"Promise." Beca breathes out and nods at the same time, too fast in fact, and she's not sure if it will backfire instead. Therefore, she takes both of Chloe's hands and holds them tightly in between their chests before she sincerely says, "I swear on my mother's grave, Chlo." She kisses her wife's knuckles several times. "I will never ever sleep with anybody else but you, and I will never let you down. I won't do to you and peanut what Warren did to me and my mom. You and peanut are my priority; above my job, above my friends, above myself. I swear on my mother's grave."

" _You didn't cheat on your wife, Mitchell."_ Beca reassures herself again, because swearing on her mother's grave is a life and death contract.  _"You're telling the truth because you_ _ **will**_ _never sleep with anybody else but your wife. Ever. And you better keep that promise, because you just fucking swore on your mother's grave."_

Chloe knows it fully in her heart that Beca loves her mother to the moon and back. Swearing on her mother's grave is definitely something sacred for Beca, and she just did it twice. So naturally, Chloe believes her, completely. With a relieved smile, the redhead says, "Okay. I'll learn to accept your friends and Ashley in our life. Won't be easy, but I'm willing to try."

With her chest bursting fireworks, Beca surges forward to kiss her wife in a long deep tender kiss, and she's sure that this is more than feeling relieved.

The kiss escalates quickly, and they pick up where they left off. After the fifth round, they have dinner before taking a shower together, and then Chloe makes sure to call Aubrey to inform her best friend that she's back.

I think you can guess just right what they will do after that. After all, they do have a lot of catching up to fulfill after two weeks of not touching each other at all. And yes, after trimming only two of her fingernails, Chloe bites and scratches her way to make her wife climax like never before.

* * *

**The next morning**

Beca wakes up alone in the bed, and she's okay with it because she knows that Chloe must be making breakfast for them. With one eye open, she peeks at the clock to find that it's already ten in the morning. She stretches, sits up, and flexes her neck, feeling satisfied of how her body is sore in all the right places. When she looks down at her chest, she finds so many hickeys, bite marks, and bruises that make her grin goofily. Then she looks over her shoulder to check her scratched back, and her smile just keeps getting wider as she gets off the bed to get dressed. After putting on a shirt and shortpants, she goes down to find her wife, whistling happily along the way. Just as her prediction, Chloe is making breakfast in the kitchen, only wearing an oversize shirt over an underwear, singing and swaying lightly to  _Party in The USA_  by Miley Cyrus.

Then the DJ sneaks her arms to hug the redhead from behind, placing her palms on Chloe's soft belly under the shirt.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Chloe smiles as she flips the pancake on the pan.

"Something smells delicious." Beca mumbles on the back of her wife's shoulder.

"It's just pancakes, Baby."

Beca nuzzles her nose onto the curve of Chloe's exposed neck, sucking it gently before she whispers, "Who said I'm talking about the pancakes?" ended with a light biting on the redhead's earlobe.

* * *

 

**_Short smut_ **

From hearing the sultry voice, Chloe's breath hitches for a second before she lets out a soft moan, shivering down her spine. She hurriedly turns off the stove and turns around to capture Beca's lips with hers, pushing forward, leading the brunette to the breakfast bar behind.

When the kiss has become more heated, Beca turns their positions, and kneels a bit downward to grab the redhead under her thighs.

Getting the cue, Chloe automatically pushes herself up to sit on the edge of the breakfast bar using both of her hands. They break the kiss just so she can pull out her own shirt. 

Beca immediately moves her lips to attack her wife's breasts one at a time, switching between using her tongue and hand to tease to mounts. Then she moves downward, her hands tugging at her wife's underwear while she's biting on the skin under her wife's navel.

Chloe automatically shifts her ass so the brunette can take off her underwear.

As she pulls away the redhead's panties, the DJ hits her knees, sucking and licking right at her wife's soft pink flesh of core.

_**End of short smut** _

* * *

 

It is fast and intense. Chloe ends up shuddering, slammed by a wave of pleasure, and Beca is left with new scratch marks on her shoulders. Just as Chloe pulls her up to return the favor, Beca's phone rings from somewhere in the hallway; the place where they threw their clothes messily yesterday before the sex marathon.

"Ignore it." Chloe says as she unbuttons her wife's shortpants, trying to slip her hand into it, and Beca pulls her in for another searing kiss.

However, the phone keeps on ringing, and Beca groans loudly. "Who the fuck is calling me in Sunday morning?"

Chloe drops her forehead onto the brunette's shoulder, feeling annoyed by the endless ringing. "Just go get it." She says as she pushes her wife away, and then she hops off the bar before putting her clothes back on. "Probably just Donna trying to make sure we got back safely. We've been radio silent for two weeks."

Beca is just as annoyed when she buttons back her pants and goes to find her phone in her jeans' pocket. When she finds it, she looks at the caller's ID, and she's struck with fear in an instant. With a determined huff, she picks up anyway. She hasn't said hello yet, but the person on the other end has already talked.

" _My house. Right now."_

The coldness in that voice is freezing the brunette up in a matter of second. Trying to stall her inevitable rain of hell, the DJ deflects, "Troian, I just got back."

" _I've waited until after your honeymoon. I'm not waiting anymore. Either you come here in less than 30 minutes, or I'll barge your front door with tons of bricks. Your choice."_

Knowing that the issue Troian is going to talk about can't be brought into her house, - _to her wife_ , the DJ hurriedly says, "Okay, okay. I'm going now. But give me one hour. I need to shower first."

_"Half an hour."_

"I smell like sex." The brunette points out. "So, you're gonna have to wait an hour for me to shower, unless you want to catch a glimpse of-"

_"Gross! Urgh... Fine!"_ Troian bites, and the phone call ends.

Beca huffs tiredly and flexes her neck. "I am so dead." She mutters. Then she shakes her head as she walks back to the kitchen. "Chlo, I'm gonna go shower."

Chloe turns around and walks towards the brunette. With her arms wrapping the DJ's neck and her hips under her wife's hands, she asks with devilish look, "Want me to join you?"

"Ha..." The DJ lets out an awkward chuckle. "I'd love to, but uh... actually, that was Troian. She said she needed me to come to her place asap."

"Can't she wait?" The redhead pouts.

With an apologetic smile, the brunette says, "I'm afraid not. It's urgent."

"It's Sunday morning, and you haven't even had your breakfast yet."

"Well..." The DJ puts on a smirk as she circles her arms around Chloe's back, leaning closer with her head tilted, closing in to shorten the distance between their faces. "Technically, I've already had my breakfast; you. And we did christen the kitchen this morning. How productive. I will have to order a new breakfast bar to be installed first thing tomorrow morning."

Chloe rolls her eyes but chuckles, and then she trails her lips down Beca's humming throat as she says with husky voice, "Don't. We can't reinstall a new breakfast bar every day because I intend to do it there every, single, morning." She sucks the DJ's bottom lip gently, tasting the faint remaining taste of her own arousal on it.

Shuddering, Beca pulls away and flexes her neck to ease the desire. "Urgh..." She whines in frustration. "I really have to shower."

"Do you really have to go now?" Chloe protests.

With apologetic look, the brunette answers, "I know I promise to put you first, and I will, but there's no emergency with you now, and Troian said it's urgent." She grimaces, "Soooo..."

After letting out a defeated sigh, the redhead smiles understandingly and says, "Fine."

The brunette grins and kisses her lips chastely. " _You_ , are the best wife ever."

"I am." Chloe beams, and then she lets Beca go shower.

When she's done showering and changing, the brunette runs to the kitchen to munch a pancake and kiss her wife goodbye. On her way to Troian's place, she calls a florist to send 14 variant bouquets of sunflowers for her wife, counting every day they were in the retreat when she couldn't give her wife the daily flowers until today.

* * *

**Troian's Place**

When Beca arrives at her best friends' house, she sees that Emily's car is parked outside. She gets off the car, and after huffing out a long nerve wreaking breath, she walks to the door and rings the bell. Soon, Patrick opens the door for her.

Looking sympathetic, Patrick shakes his head and says, "Told you."

Beca simply puts on a tight lipped smile, and then she walks in. Just as she enters the living room, she's greeted with two seem to be so furious women; Troian and Emily. Both of them are standing with their hands on their hips, glaring sharply at the petite brunette.

"Sit down." Troian firmly says.

The DJ does as she's told, and she says, "Just let me ex-"

Emily cuts her short by smacking the back of her head.

"Aw!" Beca rubs the back of her head, cringing in pain.

"You said you were done dwelling over Ashley!" Emily slaps the back of her head again.

"Aw!"

"Are you trying to ruin your marriage?!" Another slap hits the brunette's head.

"Aw!" Beca is out of patient now, but the only thing she can do is cradling her head with both hands. "Stop slapping me, Em!"

However, Emily slaps the back of her head again.

"Aw!"

"I've told you I'm gonna smack your head so hard until you end up vegetative if you ever stand in between Ashley and Chloe again!" Emily keeps on slapping the DJ's head along with each questions, making her former captain yelp in pain repeatedly. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Aw!"

"Ashley's trying to move on, Chloe's pregnant, and you tried to kiss Ashley?!"

"Aw!"

"Now you're demanding her to become your best friend like nothing happened?!"

"Aw!"

"How stupid and selfish can you be, Beca?!"

"Aw! I didn't do it in purpose, okay?!" The DJ snaps angrily and swats Emily's wrist away harshly. She's breathing heavily, but she tries to take a deep breath so she can continue with her voice softened, "And I'm not trying to ruin my marriage. I simply need Ashley in my life. I need a friend in her."

"You keep running in circle, and you're pushing your luck here!" Emily is still angry, crossing her arms on her chest to prevent herself from slapping her former captain anymore. "When you showed me the closure songs, you said you let her go. And now this?!"

"I'm not running in circle." Beca firmly says defensively. "And for the record, I said I let  _our love_  go. I didn't say anything about letting her go. In fact, I told you on New Year's, I said I'd move on, even though without letting go. And for the record again, I married Chloe. I married Chloe even after I went to see Ashley two weeks before my wedding. I didn't even do anything when she and I stayed at the office around three weeks ago. So, I'm not running in circle. I'm fucking moving forward. But it doesn't mean I have to fucking leave behind a person who still means a lot to me!"

"You went to see Ashley before the wedding?" Troian asks with her eyes narrowed as she sits down on the couch, her back leaned forward towards the DJ. This is news for her, and she can guess just right that Ashley must not know anything about this, because if the blonde had known, she would've been told.

Beca takes a deep breath, and blows it out long and deep before she explains, "Yea, I did. It was... around two weeks before the wedding. She called me after midnight, sounded wasted and crying. So... so, I went to the mansion to check on her. But when I arrived, she had already passed out, and I fucking swear that I simply looked at her sleeping." She looks forward, eyes unfocused, her fond smile is tainted with bitterness. "There was a moment where she opened her eyes, and she said,  _Babe, you're home._ And I..." Her eyes have become teary, but she's still smiling with her lips slightly parted as she exhales a shaky damp breath. "I was home... because I was with her. So, I said,  _I am."_ Suddenly feeling heavy in her chest, she looks down for like half a minute, and everybody is considerate enough to let her have her moment. Then she clears her throat and looks up at her friends again to continue the explanation, "Even with that, I didn't even consider calling off the wedding. I deleted her last outgoing call, I walked out, I told Pascal to keep it a secret, and I went back to Chloe. So, no. I'm not trying to ruin my marriage, and it's a proof that I have moved further on."

"Her dream." Troian states after she connects the dots.

"What dream?" Emily and Beca ask at the same time.

Troian shakes her head to get out of her thought, and then explains to the petite brunette, "She told me she had a strange dream about you. She said it felt so real as if you were really there with her, but she didn't believe it since she was way too drunk, and there was no history of her calling you at all. No wonder at all now that you've told me that you erased it."

"She thought it was a dream?" The DJ asks with a comical surprised look, and a huge part of her feels warm in her chest; so warm, a smile starts to creep back on her face. "A part of her knew I was there." It's a statement. She chuckles, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, no no no no no." Troian stares at the petite brunette sternly, pointing her index finger right at the DJ's face. "I know that look. That is your,  _I'm so fucking in love with her, and she's made especially for me_ look. But she can't be the one who's made especially for you, and you're not supposed to think like that anymore; not after you got married with someone else. So-"

"I didn't think lik-"

" **Sooo**..." Troian glares at the DJ for trying to debate her, pressing her word with a heavy force of annoyance. Beca snaps her mouth shut immediately, and then Troian continues with a little less scary look, "So, this unintentional yet endless and vicious cycle has to end. First, it was your birthday presents that held her back. Then you two met at the beach house, and it held both of you back. Then there was the picture of her and Shay that held you back with a night terror, then she went to comfort you that night, and it held her back, and now you said that you went-"

"Wait, she came to comfort me that night?" Beca cuts her off again, but this time, instead of trying to be stubborn, she's confused.

Everybody else becomes silent, and they're literally shocked that Troian's tongue just slipped; Troian slaps her own mouth with her eyes so wide, while Patrick and Emily are also looking at her with wide eyes and gaped mouths.

Upon seeing that look, Beca pushes, "What do you mean by she came to comfort me that night?" When nobody says anything, she looks at Emily and firmly says, "Em, explain."

However, nobody says anything because none of them knows how to deflect from it. It's a straight forward truth.

The complete silence and apologetic look on her friends' faces are enough for Beca to come to her own conclusion. For the next minute, silence is taking over the room completely, and Beca can only close her eyes out of resignation.

Eventually, the petite brunette retorts with shaky voice and her eyes squeezed, "She literally came, didn't she?" 

Still, nobody says anything. Emily is staring at her own tangled fingers on her laps, Troian is looking at Patrick as if asking him to make an excuse, and Patrick just drops his head onto his palms before scratching the back of his head harshly with both hands.

It only confirms Beca's suspicion, and she lets out a shaky chuckle before she rubs her face. "She came." She drops her head and runs her hands from her forehead up to the back of her head, clasping them there before she muffles with her face looking down, "She fucking came." She sounds upset and frustrated. "She told me when she was drunk. She said that she was there for me. I just... I- I thought she meant we were in the same place; broken hearted. I didn't think that she meant it literally." She exhales and looks up at Emily, her eyes start brimming with tears again, angry tears this time. "And all of you fucking lied to me."

"Pop..." Emily says sympathetically as she sits next to the DJ to rub her back. "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth. We were just... we didn't want to complicate your situation back then. You were having a breakdown after finding out about Ashley and Shay, and you were miserable for being engaged, and Chloe was still unstable..."

Without changing her position, the DJ flatly demands, "Tell me everything that happened that night."

After taking a deep breath, Emily explains everything; starting from the time she and Donna found the DJ at the office, how Harvey tried failingly to pull her out of the dark place in her mind, Chloe's birthday dinner, Chloe's proposal, the throwing up, and then the night terror, how Ashley could handle her so fast and easily, how she vulnerably needed Ashley that night, how she frantically looked for the ice black carbide ring, how she returned Chloe's ring so she could put Ashley's ring back on; and how sad it made Chloe. Emily also tells her about how Ashley tried to ease Chloe's anxiety, about how badly Aubrey treated Ashley, and about the conversation Chloe had with Donna when she was showering based on what Donna had told her because she herself wasn't there.

Beca remains silent, listening to everything, sinking into her own thought. She's supposed to be angry; being lied to by her wife, her assistant, her best friends, her ex, basically everybody that she thought she could trust. Oddly, after getting the explanation, she feels more relieved than upset for finding out that it's not only in her head; that the image of Ashley comforting her that night wasn't something her messed up mind created to mess with her more. Now she realizes; how could she never question the change of rings in the morning after she had the night terror; why wasn't she confused when she went to sleep with Chloe's ring, but she woke up with Ashley's ring on her finger? Was it so natural for her to have Ashley's ring instead of Chloe's?

With her palms pressing her forehead so hard, the DJ takes her time to think, mulling back to the fight she had with Ashley merely three weeks ago. She herself doesn't really know why, but that was the first time ever Ashley tried to push her away by lying; which is unlikely because Ashley had always pushed her with honesty before. In the last fight they had, other than the night terror part, the other lies were spot on. Now she knows why Ashley had to prolong the spot on lies. It was a cover up for the,  _That's why I didn't come! I don't care about you anymore!_

An insight finally strikes. An insight that quickly replaces her relief with fear and guilt. Fear because she realizes that Ashley needs and cares about her, but she doesn't want to need and care about her. This realization is terrifying but also eye opening for Beca; pushing this friendship matter will only push Ashley further away from her. Other than that, finding out the fact that she literally rejected her wife; returning Chloe's ring, putting Ashley's ring back on in front of the redhead herself, damn, did she hurt her wife that night. The thing that makes her feel guitier is, Chloe hasn't said anything about it; the redhead's been keeping it to herself instead. Now Chloe's outrageous demands make sense for her, finally.

Knowing that the DJ must be having mixed feelings, Troian takes a seat next to her other side than Emily and starts softly, "Beca... we know you and Ashley are still so much in love with each other. But you're married. It means, the two of you should stop running back to each other. So, please don't go back to her after finding this out. She needs to move on, and in order to do that, you have to let her go. I know it's hard. Believe me, I do. But she's told you that being friends with you would only hurt her. And for her, getting hurt by someone she hates like your wife's psycho best friend is so much easier to deal with than getting hurt by someone she loves; you."

"I'm not trying to hurt her." The DJ says dejectedly. "I just..."

"You want to be her friend. You want to stay close to her. I know.  _We_  know." Troian finishes her sentece sympathetically yet also firmly.

"I don't only want her in my life, Troian." Beca says desperately, grasping the top of her head tightly with one hand, while her other hand is scratching the back of her neck. It makes her look so frustrated. "I  _need_  her in my life. She's..." She exhales sadly as she slumps her shoulders and lets her hands fall down onto her thighs. "I don't know what phrase I can use to describe her meaning in my life. All I know is, she's my missing piece. I'll never be complete without her."

After taking a deep breath, Troian asks with a point proving tone, "Have you had any nightmares or night terrors after the fight you had with Ashley more than two weeks ago?"

"No..." Beca says with her eyes narrowed, at loss of where this is going. "I mean, I wouldn't know, but Chloe hasn't said anything about it, so, I'm assuming no?"

"Now that's a proof that you're starting to adjust into a life where you could be okay,  _even though_  Ashley's not there for you." Troian says matter of factly. "You don't need her in your life, Beca. You  _want_  her in your life. And  _that_ , is so different in so many levels."

Beca is taken aback for a second. Honestly, that conclusion has never crossed her mind before, but it's true. She didn't even realize how relevant it was until Troian mentioned it. Almost three months ago, she had a night terror because she thought she had lost Ashley's love. This time, she would most likely lose Ashley for good, yet she hasn't had any nightmares about it.

"And Ashley..." Troian continues with her voice softened. "She has cried less and less, and she has been trying to hang out with people other than me, Shay, and Patrick. And you might not believe this, but she's really giving it a chance with Shay. At least until you almost kissed her. I'm not saying that she doesn't want you in her life or that you two should stop being friends forever and ever. All I'm saying is, you're not ready to be just friends with her. And so is she. So, whatever plans you have to push her to be your friend, it has to wait. Until both of you are ready to be just friends, until your wife is ready to accept Ashley in your life, until everything has settled down. And the only way to lessen the chances of you running back to each other is by lessening your interactions. So, even though  _you_ , will remain as Patrick's best man for our wedding, because you're our best friend, you will not talk to her, you will not look at her, and you will not in any way try to contact her. Understood?"

Beca looks up at Troian and stubbornly whines, "Troian..."

"Don't Troian me." Troian holds up her hand, commanding firmly. "I'm doing this for both you and Ashley. I've been letting you and Ashley hurting each other for too long. I trusted that both of you could have chosen and done better. My mistake. Now, I can't let you two pulling each other like this that in the end will hurt the both of you. I've told her the same thing."

The DJ can't see how she can help preparing her best friends' wedding without communicating with Ashley at all. "But-"

"No but, Pop!" Emily snaps impatiently. "I've been putting myself out there to defend you, to help you, to clear your name, to prove how wrong Aubrey is for accusing you, but you're going way over your head just to prove Aubrey right! I yelled at Stacie for God's sake!"

"Yes but, Em!" Beca snaps back, and then she takes a deep breath before she continues with her voice softened, "What if I need to talk to her about the wedding? I'm the best man and she's the maid of honor,  _for God's sake_."

"That's why I told Emily." Troian says with convincing look. "I told her even though Ashley had specifically asked me to keep it from her. From now on, Emily will be your middle man. Whatever you need to tell Ashley about the wedding, you'll run it through Emily. When we're having lunch, or dinner, or any meetings about planning the wedding, you can talk to Ashley only and only about the wedding, right in front of us, and you will not try to talk to her privately. Pe, ri, od. So if you dare bringing up that non-sense about trying to befriend Ashley, we'll be there to stop you. I've told Ashley the very same thing. Understood?"

"Em..." Beca pleads to her aca child. "You don't want to do this... You don't want to stand in between Ashley and me like this..."

"Oh, I volunteered after I heard about what you did." Emily says fiercely with her arms crossed on her chest. "I will not let you fulfill your prophecy about the decision to choose Chloe would destroy your lives, the three of you; yours, Chloe's, and Ashley's."

Beca is again taken aback, and she can only sigh heavily in return.

Upon seeing the dejected look, the youngest Bella sympathetically says, "Pop... I know you're falling in love with Chloe. So... don't you think it's weird? You being happily married to Chloe, but you feel like home when you're with Ashley?"

The truth is, Beca doesn't feel weird at all about it. She knows it's not ideal, but it doesn't feel weird for her. Now  _this_ , is weird; not feeling weird about something that is supposed to be weird. "No, it's not weird for me." She mutters stubbornly. "I've said the same thing to Ashley. Me being happy for having a family with Chloe isn't the same with me feeling complete for having her in my life. Ashley... I still feel the same about her, and she's still the same thing for me, the same person, just with a slight adjustment."

"It should be weird, Beca." Troian tiredly says. "You can't just flip their roles in your life. First Ashley was your soon to be wife, and Chloe was your best friend. It was okay when you had wanted Chloe to stay as a friend, because she was never more than a best friend for you, and she hadn't been anything at all for you for a decade. But now? Now Chloe is your wife, and you can't possibly think that you can just degrade Ashley's position from an ex fiancé into a best friend. It's not right. It's humiliating and condescending for Ashley. The least you can do is giving her sometimes to adapt into this situation until she can think of the possibility of being your friend again."

For Beca, there's no way to be unreasonable about this matter anymore. Her wife clearly needs more time to accept Ashley than her other friends, and Ashley also needs time to move on. Troian's offer could be the so called win win solution for all of them even though it doesn't feel fair for herself. Although, as much as she wants to be Patrick's best man, she knows that it will be impossible to obey Troian's rules if she has to meet Ashley. To be in the same room without at least looking at the blonde? How is she supposed to do that? In the end, if she wants this  _keep your distance_ thing to work, she can't be Patrick's best man. After taking a deep deep breath, Beca looks up at Troian and puts on a tightly lipped smile. "Fine." She finally admits her defeat. "I'll do what you say. I'll stay away from her. But uh... I'm sorry... I don't think I can be Patrick's best man."

The other three are looking at the DJ in horror, didn't think that the brunette would have decided to step down from being Patrick's best man.

"What the hell, dude?" Patrick finally speaks up. He's definitely concerned, especially since this will change the group's dynamic completely. How to hang out with best friends who don't talk to each other for the rest or their lives? Preparing the wedding, the two of them might not have any other choice but to talk to each other, even though it's only limited about the wedding. After that? They won't have any reasons to hang out together anymore. Either Beca or Ashley will retreat from the group gathering, and he will put all of his money that Beca will be the one who chooses to walk away. There's no way the DJ will let Ashley lose her best friends.

With her shoulders slumped and apologetic look, Beca says, "I want to, dude. I swear I want to be your best man. If I could, I wouldn't have stepped down. But Troian is right. Ashley needs time, and Chloe needs time, and staying as your best man with Ashley as Troian's maid of honor..." She lets out a bitter sigh. "I don't think I can... see her but not look at her. I don't think I can speak to her but not talk to her. I can't... and I'm so sorry."

There's no way Patrick will let go off the only chance to bring his best friends back together, and this wedding can be a solid excuse. It's a middle ground; Beca won't be able to push Ashley, and Ashley can see that the two of them can work out a friendship even with a thick history. "Of course you can." He seems to be upset. "You will have to. I know it will be hard. I fucking know. But you're doing this for me. Not for her, not for yourself, but for me and Troian. Your best friends. This wedding is about me and about Troian. You and Ashley can keep your drama to yourselves at least for half a year until we get married."

"But-" Beca tries to reason.

"No." Patrick cuts her off firmly, gesturing his hands to punctuate his words. "You're my best friend, and you will be there, by my side, on my wedding day. Period. No more objection about this. I won't have it."

Emily snorts, and Troian says with a mocked accusing look, "Now tell me again, who is it that you're going to marry, Babe? Me or Beca?"

"Come on!" Patrick whines, and Beca chuckles weakly, can't help herself from picking up the mood for seeing how her best friend is so determined to have her as his best man.

"All of you know what I mean." Patrick continues with serious look. "How am I supposed to get married without knowing that I can count on my asshole best friend to prepare a getaway car in case I got cold feet?"

"So, you're anticipating cold feet now?" Troian retorts with her eyes narrowed while leaning forward towards her fiancé.

"No, I'm not." Patrick shrinks into the couch. "Just uhm... I uh... it's uhm..."

The other three women explode in a laughter from seeing how Patrick is being chewed down by his own nerves. Meanwhile, the blonde man simply rolls his eyes in annoyance for being teased by his own fiancé.

After the laughter unwind, Beca smirks and says, "I remember someone told me that if my wife doesn't approve, I can back out from being his best man."

"Well, that was before you got married." Patrick says firmly, pointing his index finger at the DJ. "Now your wife just have to suck it up. You will be my best man whether she likes it or not, and I'm staying in your life no matter how she and her psycho best friend feel about it."

"You two are so cute." Emily coos teasingly. "Should we give you two cute couple some room?"

"Oh shut up, Junk."

"Oh shut up, Kid."

Patrick and Beca say at the same time in mocked annoyance. Troian and Emily laugh again while the other two just stare at them with bored look, but then they also laugh.

After the laughter unwind, the tension raises again a little bit in the air.

Eventually, Beca breaks the silence by muttering, "Fine. I'll be your best man. Just uh... make sure Ashley is okay with this."

"She will." Patrick says certainly. "Because she has to."

"Both of you have to be okay with this." Troian adds.

"So..." Emily grimaces awkwardly. "The next six months, it should be fun."

"Ha..." Beca lets out a dry laughter. "I guess."

Patrick sighs deeply and says to his best friend, "You know that Ashley's gonna cave in the end, dude. Just be patient."

"Patient and do nothing at all." Troian adds firmly.

With a hopeful look, the DJ sighs deeply and slowly before she says, "I hope Ashley will come around even though I can't do anything at all about my situation with her. And about Chloe. Don't worry. I've talked to her, and she said she'd learn to accept you in my life. As a proof, she has already given me a green light to be this asshole's best man."

"Really?!" The other three are genuinely surprised.

"Yea." Beca nods. "I told her yesterday that I'd be Patrick's best man, and she asked me to promise that I'd always put her first no matter what, and I did. Promise. So, she gave me a yes."

"Huh." Patrick nods in affirmation. "I guess she's not so bad now after you married her."

"She's never bad, jackass." Beca says in half annoyance. "She was just..."

"Scared, and afraid, and terrified, and insecure, hence controlling and possessive..." The blonde man continues with half bored yet also half-annoyed look, still feeling the sting of anger to the redhead for trying to pull Beca out of their lives.

"Enabled by her psycho best friend..." Troian is just as annoyed.

"Hey..." The petite brunette warns softly. "You better start being nice to her. She's my wife now, and soon she'll be the mother of my child; a child who will be your niece or nephew."

"We're always nice." Patrick states with a mock offended look.

"In front of her at least." Troian continues.

"But behind her..." Patrick cringes his nose.

"That would be a whole different story." Troian adds nonchalantly.

"We have an exclusive club to talk about your wife and her oh so loyal sisters behind their back." Patrick goes on.

"On the  _dark side_  along with Harvey and Donna." Troian eyes the DJ knowingly.

Staring at his fiancé fondly, Patrick grins and teases, "Look at us finishing each other's sentences."

"Sooww meant to be together." Troian adds dramatically with overly cheerful look and voice, pressing her knuckles onto her jaw.

Beca and Emily chuckle from the dramatic act, but some of the words are too familiar and the DJ kind of knows where it came from. Therefore, the petite brunette stares at the youngest Bella with pointy look.

Emily is busted, but she rolls her eyes in half-annoyance instead of feeling guilty. "That night after you asked us, The Bellas, to meet at your office for lunch, I was so upset. So, I vented to Troian that night about the whole conversation our sisters had."

"Hmm..." The DJ nods absentmindedly, feeling moved of how committed her aca-child to be on her side. With a smile so fond, she ruffles Emily's head affectionately.

Emily swats her hand away with flushed cheeks and a feigned glare, pouting, acting as if she doesn't like it when she's being treated like a kid by her Pop.

Beca chuckles and says, "Em, you don't have to defend me all the time. It has strained your relationship with the Bellas."

"I know." Emily sighs heavily. "But I couldn't help it. They were so infuriating."

"I know, I know." Beca squeezes her aca-child's shoulder gently, smiling understandingly. "But they're getting better now. It's time to slowly blend my side with Chloe's side." Suddenly, an idea strikes across Beca's mind, and she looks at the couple to say, "For the record, my wife wasn't involved when The Bellas were talking shit about you."

"Oh, we know." Troian says with convincing look.

The DJ rolls her eyes and keeps going, "I know you don't like her for what she's asked me to do, plus, you're Ashley's best friends. But it's time to move forward. So, I think we should have a quadruple date together. Me and Chloe, you two, Emily and Andre, Harvey and Donna, we should have dinner sometime. You know, just so we can reconcile. I mean, since you two are stuck in my life forever, Harvey and Donna too, and I kind of made the same promise to my wife, I think you should learn to get along. And dinner is a start."

"I agree." Emily lights up.

The other couple though, they are cringing as if in pain.

With a mocked reluctant look and narrowed eyes, Troian whines, "Do we have to?"

"We're kind of team Ashley here, dude." Patrick raises his shoulders, pulling down the corner of his lips, showing a disapproval look.

Troian sighs with an overdramatic sad look and says, "Maybe we should cut ties from you, grumpy."

Obviously, the couple is making fun of Aubrey's irrational demand. After all, Beca had told them about Aubrey asking her to stop hanging out with them. Therefore, Emily and Beca know their play, and the youngest Bella simply chuckles.

"Nah..." Beca scoffs. "You two and Harvey and Donna are team Caley; Beca and Ashley. So, you're kind of obligated to have dinner with the half shipped Ca of the Caley;" She points both of her index fingers back to herself. "Me."

Emily gasps, "Did you just ship your name with Ashley's?"

A childlike proud toothy grin appears on Beca's face, and she lightheartily retorts, "I did, didn't I?"

"Caley?" Troian scrunches her face. "Seriously? You couldn't have shipped better than that?"

"What?" The DJ mocks an offended look. "Do you have a better idea? It's better than Beshley, Cashley, Mitchben, Chellson, Ashbec, Leyca."

The other three seem to be in a deep thought, and then Patrick says, "She's right."

"Yeah." Troian nods in resignation.

"Ashca sounds better." Emily chips in.

"Oooo..." Troian nods repeatedly in approval. "Junk has a better taste, grumpy."

"Yea, whatever." The DJ rolls her eyes playfully. "Caley, Ashca, whatever it is that suits you, but the point of shipping our names is, to remind you that you two are also my best friends, and it's too late for you to cut ties with me. Soooo..." Her lips form into a huge O. "About the dinner..."

Troian raises half shoulder and cringes, "Eeee..."

"Can we think about it?" Patrick mocks a serious considering look. Clearly, he and his fiance are teasing Beca, though to be honest, there's still a bit of bad blood left between them and Chloe after everything that has happened.

"Oh yea, dude. Totally." Beca plays along, acting so nonchalantly when she continues, "Take your time. Just so you know, you can forget about my kid calling you Unky Patrick if you refuse to come to this dinner."

Patrick groans loudly and dramatically, covering his face with both hands. "Noooo..." He grunts, mocking a low tone crying. "Don't take my unborn niece or nephew away from me..."

The three women laugh whole heartily from the overdramatic act. Well, after all, Patrick is, indeed, a great actor.

After the laughter unwind, Troian sighs and says, seriously this time, "Dinner sounds good. We'll give it a try. Just don't make us sit at the same table with the devil psycho."

"That's where we draw a line." Patrick adds with his eyes narrowed convincingly. "A thick one."

Beca scoffs, "I plan to have a friendly dinner with my wife and my best friends; not a world war three. So, no Posen."

"What about Stacie?" Emily asks, and the DJ purses her lips in consideration.

"The tall brunette who successfully handles LC's tech corp?" Patrick asks his best friend. "The one who's always had your back?"

"Yea." The petite brunette nods. "She's one of my best friends, but she's also married to Posen. Hence, the Posen-Conrad."

"So smart but has such a bad taste for a wife." Patrick shakes his head in disappointment.

"Ask her to come along." Troian suggests casually. "Who knows we can introduce her to someone better."

Clearly, the dislike towards Aubrey just keeps growing stronger. No wonder at all since Aubrey is the one who pushed Ashley and Beca to break up. Then with the way she has been treating Beca, Ashley, and Emily; the unreasonable request for Beca to cut ties with them; and then with the insults at the wedding. It's safe to say that Troian and Patrick, and of course, the people on Beca's side have grown to hate Aubrey even more.

"Nah..." The DJ sighs heavily again. "Even though I know that she'll be glad to be invited, I bet Stacie won't come without her wife. She's loyal that way."

"But invite her anyway, Pop." Emily suggests with a light pressing tone. "We're like the three musketeers in the Bella. I don't want her to feel left out or something. The decision to come should be in her hands, not ours."

"Okay." Beca nods.

Patrick snorts, "The three musketeers? More like two and a half women."

"Hey!" The DJ glares at him, knowing that it's a height joke.

Troian scoffs and shakes her head in amusement before she tilts her chin, staring forward with her eyes narrowed. "Anyway, I've heard from Ashley about how warm hearted Stacie is. Funny how someone as kind as Stacie could end up with someone like Audrey."

"You mean Aubrey." Emily corrects.

"No, I meant to say Audrey." Troian says with despising look. "No need to pretend that it's worth my time to remember her name; a person who has not only destroyed my two best friends' relationship, but also managed to put hell on them for all of the wrong reasons, even after everything they've done to meet her crazy way of  _loving_  her best friend." She air-quotes the word  _loving._

With an understanding smile, Beca says, "No, you don't need to remember her name, and you definitely don't have to like her. But you'll cross path one time or two with her."

"When?" Patrick asks.

"The right question would be  _why_." Troian points out in annoyance, emphasizing the  _why_  loudly.

"Well, there's no way I'll cut ties with you, and there's no way my wife will cut ties with her." The DJ explains casually. "So, you'll see her from time to time. Like in my kid's baby shower, when my kid is born, my kid's birthday party, you know, the kid that will call Patrick Unky Patrick. And that name carries a lot of responsibilities, dude. So, you have to at least try to stand to be with my wife's best friend in the same room."

With bored look, Patrick retorts, "You will use your kid as a weapon to blackmail me for the rest of my life, won't you?"

"Only if it works." The DJ smirks.

Patrick narrows his eyes at his best friend and says, still with half-bored half-annoyed look, "It's working alright."

Beca pumps her left fist triumphantly while popping her lips loudly.

"My name doesn't have such responsibilities. So, I don't have to pretend to like Audrey." Troian says nonchalantly, and then she stares at the DJ with threatening narrowed eyes. "And if you dare forbidding me to see my first niece or nephew for that psycho evil queen, I'm gonna leak the videos of you rolling on the grass, playing and laughing with Olive and Walter at the mansion's backyard to the media. It will ruin your badass street rep."

"Whaaaaa..." The petite brunette gasps overdramatically, pressing her right hand onto her left chest, and then she grunts with her eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." Troian challenges.

Emily, who finds it funny yet also feels guilty in Stacie's regard, clears her throat and says, "We should stop talking bad about Aubrey."

"Why?" Troian asks with her eyes narrowed.

"First, out of respect to Stacie," The youngest Bella points out, eyeing Beca to remind her. "And second, really guys, Aubrey is so not worth it. We're wasting our time and ruining a good vibe by talking bad about her."

"She's right." Beca rolls her eyes, looking annoyed yet defeated because, well, this is the only place where people are not justifying Aubrey's shitty attitude toward her. "Stacie is still my best friend." She gives the couple a pointy look. "And she's been on my side for so long."

"Fine." Troian says in half-annoyance, and then she looks at Emily and smoothly changes the topic, "Anyway, Ashley told me that you and her are models for Privè Revaux now."

"Yep." The youngest Bella pops the P. "Along with Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Piven. God, the good stuff they got there, and I got them for free now. And since we're in the topic of our new projects, I've heard you'll finally go on with your eight year project after PLL, Troian."

"Yep." Troian confirms. "Feed. I'll be in the movie with the sexy Draco Malfoy; Tom Felton."

Then they simply talk about their upcoming projects while having lunch together. Around three in the afternoon, Beca gets a phone call from her wife, and she picks up instantly.

" _Baby! Fourteen bouquets of flowers?! Are you crazy?!"_

The joyful tone brings a grin to Beca's face. How thankful she is now after finding out that Chloe had endured the hurt on the night she had the night terror, and also a few days afterwards. If the redhead had not stayed, they wouldn't have been so happily expecting a child now. With a smile so fond, she teases, "Well, I'm kind of crazy about you, wife. Do you mind?"

Emily is smiling too from listening to her Pop. Troian and Patrick simply exchange a resigned yet understanding smile. The couple is glad to see how happy their best friend is, and from the looks of it, it seems like it's time for them to start getting to know their best friend's wife better, despite of the last six months' turmoil.

Meanwhile, the DJ isn't paying any attention to her best friends at all since she's still talking to her wife.

" _Am I crazy?!"_

Chloe sounds ecstatic, and Beca simply chuckles in return.

" _At what time you'll be home? I want to thank you properly. Maybe by christening all of the guest rooms, your studio, the gym, and also the soon to be Peanut's nursery. Maybe our backyard too."_

The teasing tone certainly makes the DJ laugh, and then she says, "I'm heading back now."

" _Okay. Drive safely, Babe. I love you."_

"Love you too," and the phone call ends. Then the petite brunette looks at her best friends and says, "That's my cue to go."

"Is she still forbidding you to hang out with us?" Troian asks with accusing tone.

"Easy there." Beca says with pointy look. "She's okay with us hanging out now. But she just offered to christen all of the corners in our house. If you know what I mean. So, I'm going."

Patrick snorts at his fiancé who is rolling her eyes, and Emily just scrunches her nose as she whines, "Eeew!"

"Bye, losers!" The DJ is waving and walking away, and then she adds over her shoulder. "I'm going home to have a lot of sex with my wife now!"

"Whipped!" Patrick shouts.

"Says the one who was shrinking into the couch with one stern glare from his fiancé!" Beca yells back near the front door.

Troian and Emily simply chuckle while Patrick shakes his head in amusement.

* * *

**Mitchell's House**

Beca makes sure to get a tub of cream that could quickly heal the scratches all over her body on her way back. When she arrives, she takes her time to look at the three story house from upfront.

The house is much smaller than the mansion, but she finds it suitable for what she and Chloe need for their family. It has six bedrooms; two in the first floor that Beca converted into a gym and a study room for Chloe, and four in the second floor remain as one master bedroom, a nursery for Peanut, and two guest rooms. Each bedrooms have an inside bathroom.

The living room in the first floor is cozy and huge enough for all of the Bellas and their family to fit in, and then the kitchen is connected to the dining room. Behind the kitchen there's a laundry room, and there's one other bathroom near the laundry room. The backyard is huge, and Beca plans to make a pool and a space for her to stargazing.

As for the third floor, Chloe has let Beca have the whole floor for her studio, and the brunette has moved all of her instruments, Dj-ing and gaming equipment, and records from the mansion. Other than her fancy toys and the stuff in the sanctuary, she had taken the rest of her stuff from Ashley's place.

Well, Pascal was the one who took care of the moving. The DJ herself hasn't talked to Ashley about how to split the rest of their stuff, and she hasn't found a place to keep her fancy toys, which will require a huge piece of property. Even though this whole situation makes it feel like she's having a divorce with the blonde, Beca is relieved that she still has a spare stuff to talk about with Ashley if needed, including the custody of their  _kids_.

After letting out a long deep breath, she gets out of the car and walks into the house. She finds the bouquets of flowers are put neatly into several vases on the coffee table in the living room. There are also some on the TV table, and she's betting that there are more in the kitchen. With a grin so wide, she shouts out, "Chloe?!"

"Bedroom, Baby!"

Beca heads to the bedroom to find Chloe sitting on the floor, sorting some stuff in her closet. As the brunette is walking closer, she asks, "What are you doing, Chlo?"

"Just arranging some stuff." The redhead says while folding a shirt.

The DJ plops to sit next to her and kisses her cheek. Then her eyes catch something; the Bella's yellow scarf, and she takes it into her hands. "You still have this?"

"You don't?" Chloe seems surprised.

"No." Beca looks at her wife with somehow a regretful look. "I'm not even sure when I lost it." The fact that Beca doesn't keep her Bella scarf makes her wife sad, and it shows in a frown. Therefore, she takes Chloe's hand, squeezing it gently before she says with sorrowful look, "I'm sorry."

Upon seeing the sad look, a small understanding smile creeps across the redhead's face. A stream of need to protect Beca from getting hurt flows in, and she raises their tangled hands to kiss Beca's palm affectionately before she presses the same palm onto her own cheek. "It's okay." She softly says. "I know you love The Barden Bellas, and you left in such a hurry back then. I understand. Please don't beat yourself up for leaving again, Babe. It was a long time ago. You were hurt, and you did what you did to protect yourself."

Suddenly, the  _almost_ feeling comes back to the brunette; she can feel her own steady heartbeat, and she smiles.  _"This is love_ ," she thinks to herself. However, something is missing. Slowly, she brings Chloe's face closer so she can look into her bright blue eyes. Beca's eyes move from each of Chloe's eyes, counting, searching, waiting. Counting down to three, searching for a contented feeling, waiting to be completed.

Chloe doesn't know for sure, but she can tell from the knotted wrinkled forehead, her wife is looking for something  _in_  her. At first, she doesn't say anything about it but simply lets her wife explore. She herself has her own stuff to contemplate.  _"Is it reassurance that she's looking for?"_ She thinks to herself.  _"Is she not sure that I'm being honest and sincere? Was our fights last year still affect her? Does she think that I can't ever forgive her for what she did to me and the Bellas more than a decade ago?"_ There's no answers for those questions; not if she doesn't ask her wife directly, and that is, if her wife could be honest with her. Less than half a minute later, Chloe makes up her mind to reassure her wife. "Please believe me." She softly pleads.

Beca is slightly taken aback, and she says nothing in return but simply staring at her wife with an addition of confusion in her expression. She doesn't know why the redhead would think that she doesn't trust her.

Knowing that the brunette needs an elaboration, Chloe continues, "I know what I said to you when we first met again, and the fights we had in the beginning of our relationship, they've made you feel like you deserve to be blamed; like you deserve to feel sorry for the rest of your life. But I wasn't in the right mind. I was angry, and all I wanted to do was to hurt you back. And I'm sorry for what I did and said. I am. Now I'm sure that, you leaving, it doesn't matter anymore for me. It shouldn't. And I will never get tired to remind you. Each and everyday if I must. Because I love you. I'm in love with you. Unconditionally, Becs. You can feel it, right?"

With a grateful smile, Beca draws Chloe's face even closer and kisses her forehead in return before pressing it against her own. They both remain silent for a couple of seconds, their eyes closed, and they're breathing steadily together.

This intimate moment, a sweet moment that's not tainted with a surge of lust, combined with knowing how hurt yet selfless Chloe must have been when the night terror happened, they bring warmth into Beca's chest. " _You should stop counting, and searching, and waiting."_ She concludes finally.  _"You'll never find a feeling you had with Ashley in your relationship with Chloe. Because Chloe isn't Ashley, and Ashley isn't Chloe. They're not the same person, so they could not give you the same feelings. Your relationship with Chloe, the way you love her, they will never be the same with your relationship with Ashley, with the way you love Ashley. And it's okay. Because they shouldn't be the same. And you and Chloe will have your own thing. That's how it's supposed to be. That's how it will be."_ She nudges Chloe's nose gently with her own, and a broad smile on their faces comes out as an effect.

"I do." The DJ replies in a whisper. "I do know. And I love you too."

Happiness is radiating from every fiber of Chloe's being, and she closes the short gap between their lips, kissing her wife tenderly. Eventually, they break the kiss, but they hold their gazes into each other's eyes, still with their faces so close to one another until the moment passes.

"Well, I even keep our uniform." Chloe pulls slightly away and reaches a hand into a drawer to pull out the uniform that Beca used to call  _the flight attendant_ uniform.

"This hideous uniform." The DJ comments playfully. "I hated it, and the only thing that made it bearable was the fact that you looked insanely hot it in. I bet you still do."

"Insanely hot?" Chloe smirks devilishly.

"U huh." Beca responds nonchalantly while taking the uniform into her hands onto her laps. "It hugged you all in the right places, and your boobs," She exhales as if holding herself back. "Yeah. Seeing you in this uniform was... the first sign of my sexual orientation. I guess."

"Sooo..." Chloe leans closer, talking with sultry voice. "You had a dirty thought about me in this uniform."

It's a statement and not a question, and it makes Beca smirk. However, she simply gives her wife an ambiguous shake of head and a shrug.

"Did you uh...," Chloe's eyes flicker down to the brunette's lips as she strokes her jaw with a thumb. "Touch yourself while thinking about me strip dancing in this uniform?"

Still, the DJ gives her the same ambiguous response. When Chloe's lusty look turns into a puzzled one, Beca sighs as she puts on a weak smile and says, "I was... confused and frustrated of my reactions. Of why I could feel... attracted in that way with you, especially combined with the shower incident. So... touching myself with dirty thought about you wasn't the thing that came into my mind, Chlo. If anything, it terrified me. I was a freshman, I hated college, I barely knew you, and I was in a tremendous fear that anybody, especially Aubrey could read my mind or see my reactions when I saw you in that uniform. I don't know if you did notice, but I tried to avoid looking or staring at you for too long in public places."

With an understanding smile, the redhead presses a chaste kiss onto her wife's lips and says, "It's okay. It's ages ago. Even if you had thought that way, I wouldn't have minded."

Beca simply smiles, and then she helps Chloe arrange the other stuff, including the rest of their wedding presents from their friends. Harvey and Donna gave them a yacht, knowing how much Beca loves stargazing especially at the sea. Patrick and Troian got them a vintage record player, knowing how much the couple loves music. Emily and Andre got them a fancy kitchen set, knowing how much Chloe loves to cook for Beca. Stacie and Aubrey gave them a pair of fancy robes for couple with Mrs. Right and Mrs. Always Right,  _-the joke Stacie told Beca after the petite brunette proposed to Ashley,_  sewed into the soft fabric with golden threat.

Jessica and Ashley got them a huge collage of Bechloe's pictures back in college. CR and Denise got the couple a dozen of Barden's yellow cup, knowing that the particular cup holds a sentimental value to the start of Chloe's love to the DJ. Lily and Donald got the couple a set of BDSM equipment that Beca immediately puts aside. Flo and Randy got them a  _Happily Ever After_ bed set that Chloe intends to put on after this.

The last but not the least, Fat Amy and Bumper got them a strap-on; A real skin 7 inch vibrating strap-on dildo. Beca blushes awfully red from seeing this particular present while Chloe is beaming ever so brightly, glancing up at her embarrassed wife with dilated eyes. From that look, it's easy to deduce that the redhead is not an amateur to having sex with a strap-on. Yes, she's familiar with this equipment; had used it with Kristen for countless of times, and not only as a bottom.

"Look at the card!" Chloe is reading and grinning joyfully, and then she laughs before she reads it out loud, "For Capt and Ginger, I know you aca-lesbians still love using this. Just don't forget to thank Flo, because Bumper and me used her to try many of these dildos to find the one that could suit tiny Capt. You know, since she has the closest figure to puny Capt. She wasn't amused; gotta love her face when we finally found this one after five hours of searching and fitting. So, go shag your bed off! Bloe it up!" The redhead is still laughing in the end.

Beca on the other hand, she has never used this kind of stuff with Ashley. With an awkward grimace and her cheeks flushed, she hands the box over to the redhead and mutters, "It's uh..." She clears her throat. "I think uh... Fat Amy is messing with us."

Chloe seems to be oblivious with her wife's shift of expression. With a beaming smile, she looks back up at her wife from the note and exclaims, "We're totes gonna use this! Tonight!"

"Eeerr..." The brunette winces uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her neck. It's not like she's against expanding their horizon, but it's just weird for her to think about having something foreign attached to her while having sex with someone. Besides, she has never thought that she,  _they,_ will need it to be satisfied with sex.

Somehow, the DJ's cringing face hits Chloe with a realization. "Oh..." Her eyes wide as she realizes it. "Oh." Her eyes just become wider. It's more like a shocked look than a comical surprised look. "Oh! You've never used this before!"

Still with the same awkward grimace, the DJ looks away and mutters with an almost inaudible voice, "No..."

"No?" The redhead is deeply confused, and she can't stop her lips from blurting out, "How?" When she notices a flash of offended look mixed into the grimace, she quickly explains, "I- I'm sorry, I mean, you said you pride yourself to be a top, and- and with the experiment you and Ashley had, I thought..." She leaves her sentence hang unfinished.

"She uh..." The DJ is still cringing. Clearly, talking about sex preferences with Chloe is still a soft spot for Beca. "She never asked. And I... I uh... never thought about... trying it before? I mean, do you uh... feel like I uh... Am I not good enough? I mean, what I  _did..._?" She air-quotes the word  _did_. "With my... uh... well, you know what I use, are they not good enough?"

Chloe is, indeed, taken aback. She knows that some lesbians do take offend about using a strap on, but many more don't. It's a matter of perspective. However, with the whip experiment her wife had with Ashley, and the fact that Ashley had been with men before Beca, she had thought that they had used a strap on before. After recovering from her shock, the redhead seems so terrified to make her wife misunderstand, and she cradles her wife's face delicately as she apologetically says, "Not at all, Baby. This isn't about you being not good enough. It's just a variety, ways in having sex. And we totes don't have to try it if you're not comfy with it."

To be honest, Beca wants to answer  _No_ right away. She has nothing against the equipment, but she finds it hard to comprehend about using it if she could've given the same effect using her fingers and tongue. However, she did, after all, give Ashley a chance, without a hard time, to try using a whip. It's only fair to give Chloe the same chance; especially with Chloe being so understanding over so many things lately. Moreover, seeing Chloe staring at her with a glint of hope, and for the sake of,  _don't knock it until you try it,_ it's her part as a partner in this relationship to ask, "But uh... do you uh... do you want to try... using  _it_? With me?"

Chloe's smile, it's cautious, tentative when she mutters, "I'd love to, but... really, we don't have to try if you're not comfy with... using  _it_."

After taking in a deep breath, the DJ shyly mutters, "We can... uhm... maybe we should give it a try... tonight."

The effect is immediate; The redhead is beaming sunshine.

"But uh... you should show me how to uh..." Beca's face is tainted with red all over as she looks away, unable to finish her sentence.

Upon seeing how cutely embarrassed Beca is, Chloe presses a hard kiss onto her lips and cheerfully says, "I'll help you figure it out."

"Uhm... Thanks, I guess." The brunette mutters.

They finish arranging Chloe's stuff, and after that, Chloe goes to make some dinner while Beca takes a shower. Then they have dinner together.

When they've done eating, the redhead gets up and says, "Babe, do you mind cleaning up? I need to go shower."

"Sure."

Chloe leans closer, her lips almost brushing Beca's when she says with husky voice, "And don't come into our bedroom before I call you in."

It's unclear if the DJ is turned on or horrified. Probably both. With a visible gulp, she can only manage a small nod due to her possibly brain short circuited condition at the moment.

"Thanks." Chloe smiles and kisses her wife's lips chastely before walking away.

A quarter of minute after Chloe has gone upstairs, Beca is still staring blankly at nothing in front of her. At some point, the ringtone from her phone startles her.

"Holy shit!" The DJ mutters under her breath as she reaches for her phone in her pocket. It's Donna, apparently.

"Donna, I'm back. I'm sorry I haven't called."

_" It's okay. I know you're back. Pascal tracks you through your phone and car all the time, remember?"_

"Oh. Right. Then why are you calling?"

_"I just want to know if you're coming to work tomorrow."_

"Of course."

_"Then I'll email you your schedule for tomorrow. See you, Monkey."_

"Thanks, Donna. And see you tomorrow."

After the phone call ends, Beca hurriedly finishes her dinner and cleans up. When she's done with her chores, she goes to the living room, pacing back and forth, thinking about what's about to happen. She's like a cat on hot bricks, restless, nervous if she can do right what Chloe wants her to do. Five minutes later, she decides to sit down on the couch and just do breathing exercise to calm her nerves.

Beca doesn't know how long she's been counting her breath, and suddenly, she hears Chloe's voice from upstairs calling out for her. Slowly, she opens her eyes and answers her wife before getting up and walking, with much more steadiness compared to before meditating, towards their bedroom upstairs.

When Beca has opened the door to their bedroom, she's greeted with a view of Chloe lying on the bed on her side, propping her head with an elbow, wearing  _the flight attendant_ uniform that hugs her so tightly all in the right places. Her red hair is tied into a bun, her breasts are pressed tightly into the middle of her chest, and her legs - _thighs_  are not covered properly by the short skirt. Above all, her smile, the teasing inviting curl in her red tainted lips, it's alluring devilishly.

That view should've caused a chaos in Beca's heart and mind, yet the first thing that comes into her mind as she paces to Chloe is, "Chlo, the uniform. It's too tight. Don't you think Peanut won't be crushed?" As soon as she's kneeling in front of her wife on the bed, she undoes the buttons of the tight blazer over Chloe's belly so she can rub it worriedly.

A part of Chloe is amused, but the other part is annoyed, and she pouts. "Seriously?" She swats her wife's hand away gently from her belly. "I'm only like six weeks pregnant, not even a shed of my hair has changed, wearing the uniform that you said would make me look insanely hot, and I  _do_  look insanely hot right now by the way, yet you're worrying about Peanut right away instead of drooling all over me?"

Beca looks up at the redhead with wide eyes, taken aback for a second before she barks out a loud laughter.

Still with pouting lips, Chloe scolds half heartily, "It's not funny, Baby. Now you make me jealous of our have yet to born baby." She sits up, leaning back onto the headboards and crossing her arms on her chest, staring at her wife with narrowed eyes, her lips still pouting.

"You're jealous of-" The DJ can't finish because she can barely contain a bubbling laughter in her chest. "Jealous of- of-" Another course of laughter erupts from her chest, thinking about how ridiculous her wife is. But when Chloe keeps staring sternly at her, her laughter runs cold and she quickly wipes the tears in the corner of her eyes. Then she scoots closer to caress her wife's pouting lips with a thumb. "I'm sorry, wife." Not so convincing, apparently, with a grin plastered on her face. Therefore, she elaborates, "It's just- you're insanely hot, yes, absolutely. Hot as fuck. But," She moves her hand from Chloe's lips to rub her belly again, looking affectionately at it as she continues, "I just don't think this uniform that makes you look insanely hot is comfortable for Peanut."

"Hmph." The pouts in Chloe's lips just becomes more intense, yet somehow she can't help but feel warm in her chest from seeing how caring her wife to their peanut. "Then get me out of it." She scolds, but this time with endearing tone and expression.

Beca smirks and says, "Right away, demanding yet insanely hot pregnant wife."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to cut it short right at smut. I'm still finishing that part all over again. For now, that would be chapter 3.
> 
> And as I've mentioned in the AN above about offending some of you, I was talking about Haleb shippers. I know all of you are kind shippers of Haleb. I'm one of a Haleb's shippers too. I said that they had yelled at Beca and being unkind in the story, it was really for the sake of the story itself. It's not a real situation. I made it up. I swear I didn't mean it for real. So, I hope you don't take it wrong.
> 
> But the part where Ashley Benson was upset about Hanna and Caleb breaking up is real. You could find it in the internet. And the part where Ashley Benson and Emily Junk (or in the reality, Hailee Steinfeld) are brand ambassadors for Privè Revaux is real. Also, the movie Feed where Troian and Tom Felton would be on is real too. 
> 
> Oh, and I've forgotten to explain what a 3-1-5 breathing sequence for all of you since I mentioned it in the first settlement. In case any of you have been wondering, 3-1-5 breathing sequence is breathing in for three seconds, holding the breath for one second, and then breathing out for five seconds. It's one of the techniques in counting the breath in mindfulness meditation.
> 
> The next chapter, there will be smut with a strap on, there will be the history of Beca's relationship with Donna and Harvey, there will be the reconciliation dinner, and of course, Troian and Patrick's wedding.
> 
> Until then, sit tight, and maybe make good choices. Have a good day :D

**Author's Note:**

> That would be the first chapter. Beca's relationship with most of the Bellas is getting better, but the problem within the Bella will continue for a while, because not everybody is on board yet. So, brace yourself.
> 
> For the next chapter, we'll have the MTV Awards. More dark and twisty certainly, mostly for Beca, Ashley, Stacie, and Aubrey.
> 
> Until then, sit tight, and maybe make good choices :)


End file.
